Comparing measures of residential energy 

consumption from two surveys for 2001, 2005, and 2009 

This article compares estimates of utility expenditures from the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) and the Department of Energy’s 

Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). The article updates comparisons for 

2001 and 2005 and reports on new comparisons for 2009.1 RECS is conducted every 4 

years, and the most recent data available, for 2009, were released in 2013. 

Findings:

• The results show the same patterns in 2009 as in previous years; CE estimates are

consistently higher than RECS estimates, except those for fuel oil and liquefied

petroleum gas (LPG).

• The difference in comparable total expenditures for selected energy items

reported by the two surveys was 10 percent in 2009. The CE reported $235.9

billion in spending for electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and LPG, compared with

$213.5 billion reported by the RECS.

Detailed Results:

Among the energy components, CE/RECS ratios were higher for electricity and natural 

gas and lower for fuel oil and LPG, which dropped from 0.99 in 2001 to 0.76 in 2009. 

(See table 1.) This drop can be attributed to a 74-percent increase in the RECS estimate 

for fuel oil and LPG from 2001 to 2009, while the CE estimate only increased 34 percent. 

Both surveys showed spending declined on fuel oil and LPG between 2005 and 2009. 

1 For a comparison of data for 2001 and 2005, see “Household energy spending: two surveys compared,” 

Focus on Prices and Spending, November 2010, available online at 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/focus/volume1_number12/cex_1_12.pdf. 
The small sample size of households using fuel oil and LPG could explain the volatility 

of the ratios for these fuels. 

Table 1. Consumer expenditures on total energy and selected household energy items, adjusted for renters’ energy costs, Consumer 

Expenditure Survey and Residential Energy Consumption Survey, 2001, 2005 , and 2009 (in billions of nominal dollars)

YEAR

TOTAL ELECTRICITY NATURAL GAS FUEL OIL & LPG

CE RECS

CE/ RECS 

RATIO CE RECS

CE/ 

RECS 

RATIO CE RECS

CE/ 

RECS 

RATIO CE RECS

CE/ 

RECS 

RATIO

2009 $235.9 $213.5 1.10 $163.5 $144.0 1.14 $57.6 $49.9 1.15 $14.9 $19.5 0.76

2005 203.7 191.7 1.06 133.9 121.1 1.11 54.9 49.2 1.12 15.1 21.4 0.71

2001 166.7 153.4 1.09 110.5 97.2 1.14 45.1 44.7 1.01 11.1 11.2 0.99

Chart 1 shows the total expenditures reported by the CE and the RECS for selected 

energy items. The CE total expenditure estimates for electricity consistently exceed 

those reported by the RECS. Electricity consistently accounts for the majority of utility 

expenditures in both the CE and RECS: In 2001 electricity accounted for 66 percent of 

total utility expenditures; 2005, electricity accounted for 63 percent of total utility 

expenditures; while in 2009 electricity accounted for 68 percent of total utility 

expenditures. 
Technical Notes:

There are many differences between the CE and the RECS, and the data from 

both surveys have been adjusted to make them more comparable for this analysis: 

• The CE and the RECS treat renters whose rent payments include home 

energy costs differently. 

• The CE does not attempt to estimate the cost of home energy included in 

the rent and instead assigns the total contract rental payment to the rent of 

dwellings category. 

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

$140

$160

$180

2001 2005 2009

Billions of dollars

Chart 1. Residential Energy Expenditures, 

Consumer Expenditure Survey and 

Residential Energy Consumption Survey, 

2001, 2005, and 2009

Electricity CE Electricity RECS Natural gas CE

Natural gas RECS Fuel oil and LPG CE Fuel oil and LPG RECS
• In 2009, 14.5 percent of all renters in the CE reported that electricity was 

included in their rental payment and 19.2 percent reported that natural gas 

was included. In contrast, RECS field representatives visit rental agents or 

building management representatives to determine the actual energy 

expenditures attributable to the sampled rented housing unit. 

• The CE apportions energy costs from homeowners’ association, cooperative, and condominium fees where owners pay for utilities such as 

electricity, natural gas, and water as part of the organization's monthly fee. 

In contrast, RECS works with building management and service providers 

to estimate the energy expenditures for individual housing units. 

• The CE collects energy expenditure data attributable to vacation and 

second homes while the RECS does not. 

For the purposes of this comparison, the published CE data were first adjusted to 

make them more comparable to the RECS published expenditure data. Since RECS does 

not collect vacation home data, the comparison above excludes expenditures reported by 

the CE for owned or rented vacation homes. The CE collects data for all energy types, 

including coal, wood, and other fuels, while the RECS collects expenditure data only for 

electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, LPG, and kerosene. As a result of a coding change 

implemented by the CE in 2005, it was no longer possible to identify kerosene 

expenditures. For continuity and comparability, coal, wood, and kerosene expenditures 

from both surveys were excluded for all years. 

The RECS data were also adjusted to remove energy expenditures paid indirectly 

through rent and condominium fees. Table 1 shows the 2001, 2005, and 2009 results, 
minus the estimated amount renters paid implicitly through rental contracts. Additionally, 

CE data have been adjusted to exclude utility payment made through condominium fees 

to match the RECS variable. Because contract rents and utilities paid indirectly cannot 

estimated for years prior to 2001, the RECS data cannot be adjusted to compare them 

with CE data for years prior to 2001. Note that a change in the RECS documentation on 

condominium fees required the 2001 and 2005 CE estimates to be recalculated. This 

change accounts for the discrepancies in the 2005 CE statistics that appear in this article 

with those that appear in the 2010 Focus on Prices and Spending article.