According to the Energy Information Administration, fFederal fuel consumption for fiscal FY2014 fell to the lowest level since the data was first measured, in 1975, according to the Energy Information Administration.
In a Dec. 7 post, the EIA said the federal government consumed 0.94 quadrillion British thermal units, less than the 0.96 quadrillion BTUs consumed in 2013.
Related: Read the report
According to the post, aA decline in the use of jet fuel helped reduce overall consumption, as the federal government burned 10 billion fewer BTUs in 2014 than the 424 billion consumed in 2013.
The EIA post noted that The Department of Defense still leads agencies with 78 percent of the federal government’s fuel consumption in fiscal FY2014, according to the EIA post. Civilian agencies account for 22 percent with the U.S. Postal Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Energy combining for half of the consumption rate.
The DoDepartment of Defense’s Fiscal Year 2014 Operational Energy Annual Report, which measured the amount of energy spent on missions, cited Air Force efforts to reduce both fuel consumption lowering amounts needed in flight reserves, as well as changing flight patterns to optimize fuel consumption.
Other branches also focused on lowering their consumption through initiatives like the Navy’s Aviation Energy Conservation Program.
The report said that tThe DoD required 87 billion barrels, worth $14 billion in fiscal FY2014, and the report estimated it would need an additional 3.2 billion more barrels in fiscal FY2015.
The EIA post noted that DoD still leads agencies with 78 percent of the federal government’s fuel consumption in FY2104. Civilian agencies account for 22 percent with the U.S. Postal Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Energy combining for half of the consumption rate.
Energy-saving efforts like renewable energy usage and alternative fuels have also played a role in reducing consumption across government. The EIA reported that 6.1 percent of the energy used in federal buildings in fiscalFY 2014 came from renewable sources, with a 10 percent goal set for fiscal FY2016.
There has also been a push for alternative fuel vehicles, with electric vehicles increasing 64 percent since fiscal FY2010. Ethanol vehicles have also been on the rise, with the U.S. Postal Service, the largest agency fleet, acquiring E85 vehicles for 47 percent of its acquisitions in the past decade.
The EIA’s Federal Energy Management Program began tracking fuel consumption in 1975, when the federal government consumed 1.56 quadrillion BTUs.
