The largest consumer of electricity is the industrial sector, in
part because Delaware is home to several energy-intensive
industries including a major petroleum refinery, chemical plants
and large manufacturers.
The transportation sector is the second largest and is
almost
completely dependent on petroleum fuels, mainly gasoline and diesel
fuel. The commercial and residential
sectors account for the remainder of the state's energy
consumption. They include a wide range of end users including
space heating, air conditioning, water heating and an array of
electric appliances and equipment.
Delawareans currently consume approximately 280 trillion BTUs of
energy in different forms every year - this equals approximately
7.4 gallons of oil per person per day. Eighty-four percent of
this energy is delivered directly to Delaware in
the form of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum products and
natural gas), and is used to fuel homes, businesses, industry
and transportation, as well as to generate a portion of the
state's electricity. Another 15%, nearly all of the remainder,
is delivered in the form of electricity generated mainly by
out-of-state fossil and nuclear-fueled power plants.
*Note: Imported electricity does
not include losses incurred in generating and delivering
electricity from out-of-state power plants to Delaware.
