Changing pattern of electricity demand growth for the rural electric cooperatives

Conference · Fri May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:5280368

Gallagher, C A; Maddigan, R J; Chern, W S

Although the Rural Electric Cooperatives serve less than 10% of the population in the United States, they represent a rapidly growing component of the electric utility industry. The migration of people from the cities to rural districts, in addition to the increasing tendency for industries to locate within cooperatives' service areas, has contributed to the accelerated growth. This paper examines the future electricity demand for the cooperatives using three scenarios of projected fuel prices and two scenarios of sectoral customer growth. The forecasts presentd here are derived from the Electric Energy Demand (REED) model developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The model is a simultaneous-equation econometric model estimated with pooled cross-sectional time series data for 1969 to 1977. Electricity demand and average price are endogenous in this model. The forecasting results show that the projected growth rates of electricity demand vary considerably across regions (and states) and that electricity demand in the rural cooperatives' service areas would grow at a higher rate than for the total electric utility industry.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 5280368
• Report Number(s): CONF-810757-5-DRAFT; ON: DE84007590
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
292000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Supply
Demand & Forecasting
296000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
COOPERATIVES
DEMOGRAPHY
ELECTRIC POWER
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
FORECASTING
LOAD MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT
POWER
POWER DEMAND
PRICES
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RURAL AREAS