Electricity Requirements for a Digital Society

Greater use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) marks a U.S. transition toward a "digital society" that may profoundly affect electricity supply, demand, and delivery. RAND developed four 2001-2021 scenarios of ICT evolution and assessed their implications for U.S. electricity requirements. Even large deployment of ICTs will only modestly increase U.S. electricity use over the next two decades. The more pressing concern will be how to meet the increased need for higher-quality and more-reliable power that accompanies ICT use.