Energy is the ability to do work, where work is done when a force moves an object. We need and use energy every day, and energy is available in all different forms. Electric energy is the energy that is stored in charged particles within an electric field. Electric fields are simply areas surrounding a charged particle. In other words, charged particles create electric fields that exert force on other charged particles within the field. The electric field applies force to the charged particle, causing it to move - in other words, to do the work. To better understand electrical energy, let's explore the electric fields in a little more detail. Electric fields are like gravitational fields in which both fields are areas surrounding an object that are influenced by the object. A gravitational field surrounds the earth, providing a force that pulls us down.
Similarly, electric fields surround charged sources and exert a force on other charged particles that are within the field. Have you ever heard the expression "opposites attract"? This certainly applies to the electric fields. The image below shows electric fields surrounding both positive and negative sources. The arrows you see illustrate the direction in which a positive test load would move if placed inside the field. Positive objects create electric fields that repel other positive objects; Therefore, the arrows point away from the positive source. Negative sources create electric fields that attract positive objects; Therefore, the arrows you see are directed towards the negative source. It is very important to remember that the direction of the electric field always points in the direction in which a positive particle would move within that field.
Electric energy is potential energy, which is energy stored in an object because of the position of the object. Well, in terms of electrical energy, the object is the charged particle, and the position is the location of that charged particle within the electric field. The charged particle will have the potential to move, or to do work, due to the strength of the electric field. This is very similar to the potential energy you would have if you rode your bike to the top of the hill. Muscle contractions in the leg muscles provide the energy to move that bike to the top of the hill. The higher you move up the hill, the more potential energy the motorcycle will contain. At the top of the hill, gravity then provides a force that would move the bike back up the hill.
Similarly, moving a charge in an electric field against its natural direction of motion requires effort. For example, an external force is needed to move a positive test load away from a negative source. The effort of the work by an external force will in turn add potential energy to the object, just as you work hard to ride your bike on the hill. If the force holding the charge is removed in place, the charged particle will move within the field. Now, no effort is required to move an object from its high potential energy location to a lower potential energy location. Just as you do not need energy to afford a hill, the positive charge does not need energy to move to the negative source. Both are natural processes. Rather, the potential energy stored due to the position of the charged particle is transformed into kinetic energy, which is energy of motion.