Electric vehicles outpaced rail in terms of using U.S. power last year, signaling a major shift in the transportation sector, according to new federal data.
For two decades, freight and passenger rail had been the largest transportation user of electricity nationally, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly power report. In 2023, electricity consumption from EVs and plug-in hybrids increased by nearly 50 percent from the previous year, topping 7,000 gigawatt-hours.
Along with showing the pace of EV adoption, the numbers underscore the lack of new electrified rail infrastructure in recent years.
According to EIA, EVs accounted for approximately three times the electricity use of hybrids last year, a ratio that has remained largely unchanged since 2018. California accounted for 34 percent of the EV power consumption, followed by Florida at 6 percent.
