Electric energy is the energy created by electrons moving through an electrical conductor. The world is made of matter. All matter contains atoms that contain electrons that are always moving. When electrons are forced down a conductive path, such as a wire, the movement produces electricity, or electric energy.

Atoms contain neutrons, protons and electrons. An atom with an equal number of protons and electrons is considered very stable. An atom with fewer protons than electrons is negatively charged. An atom with more protons than electrons is considered positively charged. Electric energy is created by forcing electrons to travel from one atom to another by creating an imbalance between atoms, forcing the protons and electrons to attempt to balance themselves. Because everything is made of matter, and all matter has electrons that are consistently in motion, everything contains potential electric energy, even though some objects have more than others. There are some objects that can carry electric energy, facilitating the transfer of electricity from place to place. These items are known as conductors. Objects that cannot transfer electricity are called insulators. Like conductors, there are some insulators that work better than others. Some insulators may allow a small amount of electricity to flow through them while others allow almost none at all.