Annual Energy Outlook 1986

This document includes summary information on the ownership structure of the US electric utility industry, a description of electric utility regulation, and identification of selected factors likely to affect US electricity markets from 1985 through 1995. This Outlook expands upon projections first presented in the Annual Energy Outlook 1985, offering additional discussion of projected US electricity markets and regional detail. It should be recognized that work on the Annual Energy Outlook 1985 had been completed prior to the sharp reductions in world oil prices experienced early in 1986.

"The projections in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Annual Energy Outlook 2012 (AEO2012) focus on the factors that shape the U.S. energy system over the long term. Under the assumption that current laws and regulations remain unchanged throughout the projections, the AEO2012 Reference case provides the basis for examination and discussion of energy production, consumption, technology, and market trends and the direction they may take in the future. It also serves as a starting point for analysis of potential changes in energy policies. But AEO2012 is not limited to the Reference case. It also includes 29 alternative cases (see Appendix E, Table E1), which explore important areas of uncertainty for markets, technologies, and policies in the U.S. energy economy. Many of the implications of the alternative cases are discussed in the 'Issues in focus' section of this report. / Key results highlighted in AEO2012 include continued modest growth in demand for energy over the next 25 years and increased domestic crude oil and natural gas production, largely driven by rising production from tight oil and shale resources. As a result, U.S. reliance on imported oil is reduced; domestic production of natural gas exceeds consumption, allowing for net exports; a growing share of U.S. electric power generation is met with natural gas and renewables; and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions remain below their 2005 level from 2010 to 2035, even in the absence of new Federal policies designed to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions."--Executive Summary (p. 2).