Information technology and the use of energy

Abstract This paper assesses the potential impact of information technology on energy use in advanced economies. Irrespective of energy price movements, information technology is expected to raise the energy efficiency of economic activity through its direct application to reducing energy consumption in products and processes, and through the productivity improvements and structural changes it initiates which will not involve substantial increases in energy use. Economic growth will thus be less tied dynamically to the expansion of energy supply and demand than in previous phases of industrialization. While overall energy demand may not rise strongly, information technology will however tend to increase electricity's importance in the economy.