The UK government has published the latest Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), providing a snapshot of how the country produced and used energy throughout 2025.
The Energy Advice Hub team has taken a look at the latest figures.
Electricity demand is changing
Electricity demand increased by 1.2% overall in 2025, but the picture varies across different sectors.
Domestic electricity consumption rose by 2.6%, while commercial use increased by 1.5%. Industrial electricity consumption, however, continued its long-term decline, falling by 2.0% to its lowest level since 1983.
The government says the fall in industrial demand reflects ongoing improvements in energy efficiency, alongside the continued shift away from traditional manufacturing towards higher-value industries. Meanwhile, cooler weather during the first part of 2025 contributed to higher electricity use in homes and commercial buildings.
Renewables reach another milestone
Renewable energy reached a record high, generating 52.1% of the UK’s electricity in 2025 – the second consecutive year they have supplied more than half of the country’s electricity.
This was driven by:
- record generation from offshore wind
- increased solar capacity and unusually high average daily sunshine
- continued growth in wind generation overall.
Wind remained the UK’s largest source of renewable electricity, generating 29.5% of total electricity, while solar recorded its highest-ever output, supplying 6.9% of UK electricity.
At the same time, electricity generated from nuclear power fell by 12% year on year, largely due to outages for refuelling as well as planned and unplanned maintenance. Despite this, low-carbon sources – renewables and nuclear combined – still generated 64.3% of the UK’s electricity.
UK gas production continues to fall
2025 also saw the continued decline of domestic gas production.
Natural gas production fell by 3.4% during 2025 as output from the UK’s mature North Sea fields continued to decline. To help meet demand, gas imports increased by 2.3%, with higher imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) offsetting lower pipeline imports.
Overall gas demand remained broadly unchanged, with increased use for electricity generation balancing lower demand from industry and commercial buildings.
What do these figures tell us?
The latest DUKES statistics reinforce several long-term trends in the UK’s energy system.
Renewable electricity continues to grow, helping reduce reliance on fossil fuels for power generation, while domestic electricity demand is gradually increasing as homes become more electrified. At the same time, declining North Sea gas production means the UK remains increasingly reliant on imported gas to meet demand.
Although many of these changes have been developing over several years, the latest figures show the pace of the UK’s energy transition continues to accelerate – with renewables playing an increasingly central role in the country’s electricity mix.
If this or any of our content has interested you, get in touch for a no-obligations chat with one of our specialists at Sustainable Energy First.