Abstract An investigation is presented of the relationship between energy use and economic activity in the main UK industrial sectors in the period 1954–1975. We first summarize the historical behaviour of energy use and activity in the industrial sectors. We also examine to what extent changes in energy/GDP ratio are attributable to decreasing energy consumption/output ratios of the different sectors and to what extent they reflect the changing sectoral composition of the economy. Decreasing energy/output ratios, rather than structural change, are found to account for changes in the energy/GDP ratio. We then test the hypothesis that interfuel substitution only can account for the increased energy productivity. Only the results for Food, Drink and Tobacco and Engineering support the hypothesis. Finally we analyse the historical price responses of energy consumption. The results support the view that fuel prices are significant in explaining changes in fuel consumption and in accounting for fuel substitution. However, other variables, such as labour costs, temperature and business cycle fluctuations, contribute to the changes.