Energy Outlook Update to Address Impacts of Recent Energy Legislation

January 3, 2008 -- The Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be updating recently released projections of U.S. energy demand and supply through 2030 to reflect the provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which was signed into law on December 19, 2007. Specifically, the Annual Energy Outlook 2008 (AEO2008) reference case, which is often used as the baseline for analyses of proposed policy changes and had originally reflected existing laws and policies as of October 2007, will be revised to reflect the estimated impacts of this new law on future energy use.

“The Congress has passed, and the President has signed, energy legislation containing many provisions that will significantly impact both the level and mix of energy produced and consumed in the U.S. over the next 25 years,” said Guy Caruso, EIA’s Administrator. Initial review of the new law by EIA staff suggests that new fuel economy standards for motor vehicles, the mandate for a substantial increase in the use of biofuels, and new efficiency standards for appliances and lighting are likely to have particularly important impacts on energy projections.

The AEO2008 revised reference case projections of U.S. energy use should be much more useful to EIA’s energy analysis customers in government and the private sector over the year-long “shelf life” of the AEO2008 than the original projections which do not reflect the new energy law. The updated AEO2008 reference case will also serve as a more appropriate baseline for energy analysis requests that are already pending at EIA as well as requests received over the coming year.

The updated reference case should be available in late February. The necessary updates are expected to delay publication of the complete AEO2008, which includes numerous side cases and sensitivity analyses, until April 2008.

Source: DOE

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