Since I live and work in Irvine, I want to summarize its energy use taken from the City of Irvine Energy Plan, approved in 2008, and using 2006 data. It used 18.5 trillion BTUs in 2006. That energy use was broken up as 26% gasoline, 34% natural gas, and 40 percent electricity.
The peak power was in September, and was 294 megaWatts. The load factor (the fraction of peak power that gives average power) is 0.58, so the year round average power is 171 megaWatts. The electrical energy use for 2006 was 2.17 billion kWh. Residential use accounted for only 16% of electrical energy, and the rest was commercial. By the way, current data from 2011 is probably available now, so at least that part of the report could be updated, and the graphs could be made available in jpg format for independent use. The 98 page Energy Plan is a wonderful document with all the ways that the city services are saving energy and avoiding pollution, and how residents and businesses can do the same. If the clean energy San Onofre nuclear power plants are shut down, you can throw all the Irvine achievements in and investments for clean energy out the window.
