MEDIA RELEASE
23 February 2018	Embargoed: 11:30 am (Canberra time) Increased energy use, increased energy efficiency

Australian energy use increased in 2015-16, but also became more efficient according to the latest edition of the annual Energy Account released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Total net energy use increased by 5 per cent in 2015-16, according to ABS Environment and Agriculture spokesperson Lauren Binns, with net exports of energy increasing by 10 per cent (to account for 75 per cent of net energy use).

Australian industry and households both reported small 1 per cent increases in net energy use over the period.

“However, although Australian industry used more energy overall in 2015-16, it made more from it, requiring 2 per cent less energy for each million dollars of economic output between 2014-15 and 2015-16.” Ms Binns said.

There was a similar pattern at the household level.

"On average, each Australian household used 141 gigajoules of energy in 2015-16 - that's a 1 per cent decrease from 2014-15 and a nearly 6 per cent decrease over the decade since 2005-06," Ms Binns said.

Further details can be found in the Energy Account, Australia, 2015-16 (cat. no. 4604.0) available as a free download from the ABS website www.abs.gov.au.

Media notes

• For the first time the ABS has provided additional detail on the flows of energy between the environment and the economy and between different parts of the economy. As these new estimates are presented on a gross basis they will exceed the previously published net totals.
• Users are advised to refer to the net tables for a consistent comparison of energy supply and use over time.
• The Energy Account Australia publishes data up to and including the 2015-16 financial year and incorporates data already available from other ABS releases and the Australian Energy Update from the Department of Environment and Energy. Links can be found here:
  5204.0 Australian System of National Accounts
  5368.0 International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia
  6401.0 Consumer Price Index, Australia
  6427.0 Producer Price Indexes, Australia
  Australian Energy Update, Commonwealth of Australia 2017