An analysis of official figures has shown that the UK's electricity use fell in 2017, making it the only EU country to see a reduction in electricity consumption.
Over the past decade the UK's use of electricity has decreased,with demand falling by 9% in the past seven years. The decline has been attributed to a decline in UK industrial activity combined with an increase in use of more energy efficient lighting and appliances.
The UK’s power consumption fell almost 2% from 355 terawatt hours to 348 tWh, while across the rest of Europe it rose by an average of 0.7%. This is the third year running that consumption across the rest of the EU has increased. It is thought that the rise is linked with a rise in economic growth and GDP, increased industrial activity and a growing population.
However the disparity between the UK's and EU's electrical use has bewildered experts, as the difference can't be explained away by a shrink in industrial production or a slow down in economic growth alone. Carbon and power analyst, Dave Jones, commented: "The 2017 fall is large and is at odds with other European country, and puts the UK clearly on the road to lower electricity consumption Reasons are hard to identify. It is likely other EU countries’ air-conditioning binge has been much stronger than that in the UK. Perhaps UK shops are better at stocking energy-efficient appliances or UK consumers are shopping for energy-efficient products."
The data collected also showed across the EU, coal use was overtaken for the first time ever by renewable energy sources, with the report stating: "This is incredible progress, considering just five years ago, coal generation was more than twice that of wind, solar and biomass."
