Oil Use for Electricity Generation in Florida

Today we are referencing data from the Department of Energy on oil use in the U.S. As the below charts show, about two-thirds of all electric utility generation from oil use occurs in two states -- Florida and Hawaii.

While Hawaii's oil dependence can be understood (e.g., natural resources, transportation limitations), Florida's dependence is both confusing and troublesome. Another way of stating this is that Florida's electric utilities use more oil to generate electricity than the total used in all other continental States.

U.S. Oil Use for Electric Utility Generation in 2008

U.S. Oil Use for Electric Utility Generation in 2009

Now, Florida's dependence on oil (from not exactly friendly places like Venezuela) for electricity generation is certainly no anomaly, as this occurrence has been going on for decades -- leading us to ask, what in the world are Florida's electric utilities and lawmakers thinking about?