Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity

This RMI report identifies a substantial 'electric productivity gap' between the top ten most efficient U.S. states and the national average. After adjusting for climate and economic composition, the report finds a normalized gap of 1.2 million GWh annually, equivalent to 31% of 2005 retail sales. RMI concludes that closing this gap through known policy and technical levers could reduce projected 2020 electricity demand by 34% while maintaining economic growth.

• There is a significant electric productivity gap in the United States, measured as dollars of gross domestic product per kilowatt-hour consumed ($GDP/kWh). In 2005, the population-weighted national average electric productivity was $3.76/kWh, while the average for the top ten performing states was $6.10/kWh.
• After normalizing for exogenous factors such as climate and economic composition, the remaining electric productivity gap is estimated at 1.2 million gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually. This gap represents approximately 31 percent of 2005 retail electricity sales and is equivalent to 62 percent of the nation's coal-fired electrical power.
• Climate and economic mix adjustments account for approximately 25 percent of the total electric productivity gap, indicating that the majority of the disparity is due to factors within the near-term control of states, such as efficiency implementation.
• If the United States achieves the electric productivity of the current top-performing states by 2020, the country could see a 34 percent reduction in projected electricity demand compared to 'Business as Usual' (BAU) forecasts, while still maintaining an annual economic growth rate of 2.5 percent.
• RMI asserts that the electric productivity gap can be closed within ten years because the necessary technology and policy solutions—such as stricter building energy codes, utility compensation for efficiency, and physical upgrades like CFLs and weatherization—are already available and tested.

APA

Mims, N., Bell, M., & Doig, S. (n.d.). Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_CGU.RMI_.pdf

Chicago

Mims, Natalie, Mathias Bell, and Stephen Doig. Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_CGU.RMI_.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mims |first1=Natalie |last2=Bell |first2=Mathias |last3=Doig |first3=Stephen |title=Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_CGU.RMI_.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mimsndassessing, author = {Mims, Natalie and Bell, Mathias and Doig, Stephen}, title = {{Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_CGU.RMI_.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }