EVs Exceed Rail System Electricity Consumption for First Time in the U.S. :EIA

Electricity consumption from light duty vehicles surpassed that of rail systems in the U.S. in 2023, according to a May 20 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Estimates of electricity consumption in the transport sector for the last five years show rail transport consuming the most electricity until 2022.

This change reflects the increasing market share of electric vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle market. In 2023, 16 percent of all LDV purchases were EVs. The electricity use of EVs in 2023 was 7,596 gigawatt hours, a five-fold increase from 2018 figures.

Breaking down the EV category further, battery electric vehicles were the biggest consumers of electricity. Battery vehicles were responsible for 72 percent of EV electricity demand. This is a marked change from 2018 figures which show a more even split between battery EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs. This is expected as the price point of battery EVs have reduced significantly in recent years, and more models are available on the market.

The Pacific Census Region had the highest electricity demand from light-duty vehicles at 40 percent, followed by The South Atlantic Census Division at 15.5 percent and Middle Atlantic Census Division at 8.8 percent.

The Pacific Census Region encompasses five states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington). Of these states, California contributed to 85 percent of the electricity consumption of LDVs in this region. This is expected since California has the most registered EVs of any state with over 900,000 registered EV owners. It also dominated EV electricity use in the U.S. as a whole, with 33.9 percent of electricity consumed by EVs in the U.S. originating from California.