The most common measures involve removing the electric space heating and water heating units and replacing them with natural gas-fired furnaces and water heaters. Further savings can be achieved if electric stoves and clothes dryers are replaced. Electricity use for these appliances drops to almost nothing while natural gas use skyrockets. Measurements at the meter and comparisons of energy use will indicate that consumption actually increased. The comparison is misleading because electricity is many times more expensive than gas.
Most electricity is generated by burning coal, gas or oil.
The generation process results in about two units of energy wasted for every unit of electricity generated. If the energy comparisons included these conversion losses, then gas heating would appear to use less energy than electricity. Electricity catches up with gas to some extent because most electric appliances are more efficient than their gas counterparts. Nevertheless, gas nearly always wins out. Burlington Electric Dept. is unusual in that it is a winter-peaking utility.