Better Planning Needed To Deal with Shifting Regional Energy Demand

Since 1970 there has been a distinct movement of people and economic activity from the northeast and north-central regions to the southeast and southwest--sometimes referred to as the Sunbelt--and to the Rocky Mountain area. Such population and industry shifts alter the energy requirements of the regions affected.

To be dealt with effectively, the energy implications associated with disparate regional growth require detailed analysis. The nature and magnitude of related energy problems can be defined, and the potential significance of energy-saving strategies can be assessed. However, the Federal, State, and private sectors have not fully assessed the energy implications of regional population and industry shifts. Coordinated efforts are required by the three sectors to: develop State-level forecasts of energy consumption which accurately reflect the differences in regional and State growth patterns, analyze the energy implications of population shifts and develop plans and strategies for managing affected areas, and implement plans for dealing with energy implications in existing and future programs.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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