While many utilities are encouraged by regulators to engage in end-use energy efficiency programs, few consider options to reduce  energy losses along the electricity value chain, even though the  electricity sector is the second largest electricity-consuming industry  in the United States. Electricity used to facilitate power production,  transmission, and distribution alone consumes approximately 11% of  generated electricity. A number of technologies can be applied to  reduce this electricity use.

This report addresses the energy currently expended in the form of  electricity used for power plant auxiliaries and transmission and  distribution losses. The report shows that electricity consumption in  electric utilities can be reduced by up to 15% and describes some of  the technical options available to lowering power usage, including the  increased employment of variable speed drives in power plants and  ways of improving transmission and distribution efficiency by  reducing transmission and distribution losses. The report sketches  out a strategic framework for realizing these opportunities.