According to the recently-released “State Energy Data System” (SEDS) report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Texas consumed more energy in 2023 than any other state in the nation.

Total energy consumption in Texas was twice as much as in California, the second-highest consuming state, and more than three times as much as in Florida, the third-highest consuming state.

U.S. total energy use peaked in 2007, and, between 2007 and 2023, Texas’s energy consumption increased 21 percent, while U.S. energy use decreased five percent. According to EIA’s SEDS data, most of the energy consumption growth in Texas is attributable to three factors: increased industrial activity, increased population, and increased electricity demand.

“In 2023, energy consumption in Texas was higher than in any other state for every sector,” said EIA. “Texas also consumed more coal, natural gas, and petroleum than any other state, and it was second only to California in total renewable energy consumption. In 2023, Texas’s industrial sector alone consumed more energy than all the sectors in California combined, and Texas’s petroleum consumption alone nearly equaled all of California’s energy consumption.”

Between 2007 and 2023, Texas’s industrial sector energy use grew 28 percent, while U.S. total industrial sector energy use declined three percent. The industrial sector, which includes Texas’s energy-intensive chemical manufacturing, oil and natural gas extraction, petroleum refining, and agriculture industries, is the state’s largest energy-consuming sector.

Between 2007 and 2023, the population in Texas grew 29 percent, significantly more than the national average of 12 percent. Texas’s energy use increased by 18 percent in the commercial sector, 15 percent in the transportation sector, and three percent in the residential sector during the same period, partly because of the state’s population growth.

Unlike most states, nearly all of Texas’s electric grid is disconnected from the nation’s regional grid, making Texas largely dependent on its own resources to meet in-state electricity demand.

Between 2007 and 2023, Texas’s electric power sector energy consumption increased six percent to help support population growth, while U.S. total electric power demand increased three percent during the same period. “We expect electricity demand in Texas to grow rapidly in 2025 and 2026, as data centers and cryptocurrency facilities come online,” said EIA.

By contrast, total energy use declined 14 percent in California and two percent in Florida between 2007 and 2023, in part because of decreased industrial and electric power sector energy use. During the same period, industrial sector energy consumption decreased by 20 percent in California partially because of reduced oil and natural gas extraction activities.

“The electric power sectors in California and Florida are now more efficient than in the past, mostly because of reduced in-state use of coal to generate electricity,” said EIA. Significantly more coal is needed to produce a kilowatthour of electricity than other sources, such as natural gas, wind, and solar.

The electric power sector in California consumed 19 percent less energy in 2023 than in 2007. In Florida, electric power sector energy consumption decreased four percent over the same period. California significantly increased in-state electricity generation from solar and wind over that period, while Florida increased its generation from natural gas and solar.

(In its “State Energy Data System,” EIA converts convert different energy sources to common units of heat, called British thermal units [Btu’s]. It uses Btu to compare different types of energy that are not usually directly comparable, such as barrels of petroleum and cubic feet of natural gas.)