OFFICIAL EXPLANATION



The passage provides two pieces of statistical information about the restaurant business in the United States. Both pieces of information are framed in terms of percentages. To draw a proper GMAT conclusion, we will need to find an answer choice that is directly in line with the statistical data cited in the passage.

(A) The passage makes no connection between the availability of energy-efficient equipment and a 30 percent reduction in energy costs.

(B) The passage provides no information about the annual energy costs of any industry except the restaurant business. While the passage states that the restaurant business wastes more energy than any other industry in the United States, it makes no claim about the amount spent on energy by the restaurant industry relative to other industries.

(C) The difference in relative energy savings accrued by a small restaurant as compared to that of a large restaurant is not addressed in the passage.

(D) According to the passage, $8 billion (80% of the $10 billion spent on energy each year) is squandered on inefficient equipment. This leaves $2 billion unaccounted for in the passage. This does not necessarily mean that some of this $2 billion is not squandered; it simply means that it is not squandered on inefficient equipment. It might, for example, be squandered on employees who forget to turn off the lights after closing.

(E) CORRECT. Since the waste attributed to the use of inefficient equipment accounts for 80% of the $10 billion spent on energy each year, savings from other sources could account for, at most, 20% of the $10 billion spent. Thus, the replacement of inefficient equipment represents – by far – the largest potential source of energy savings.