What it means: all the energy used in the UK, not just electricity: petrol, diesel and jet fuel for transport, gas for heating and power stations, and the fuels used to make electricity, 1,889 TWh in total in the latest year. Each fuel is counted by the energy it contains before it is used, so nuclear power, which wastes about two thirds of its heat, looks larger than the electricity it produces, while wind and solar are counted as the electricity they generate. Oil, mostly for transport, has been the largest fuel since 2023, when it overtook gas. Total energy use has fallen since the mid-2000s as industry has shrunk and buildings, cars and appliances have become more efficient. Shown for context.

Source: DESNZ, Energy Trends, table 1.2 (inland energy consumption, primary fuel input basis, not temperature adjusted), converted from million tonnes of oil equivalent to TWh.