Review of the development of Freud's concept of psychic energy and the contemporary criticisms of it yields the conclusion that it can no longer be sustained in its classic form. The argument is advanced that, even though Freud's view of psychic energy should be abandoned, the economic principle remains an integral part of psychoanalytic theory. The possibilities for an economic principle independent of energic considerations are discussed. Even though the economic principle can stand on its own feet, the psychic apparatus still has energic requirements in its capacities for work, action, and causal efficacy. The role of energy can be reduced to that of a potential for action and function inherent in psychic structures. The realignment of the concept of psychic energy within the mental apparatus opens the way to reconsideration of the relation between psychic energy and the traditional drives, both libidinal and aggressive, and to further refinements in the theory of motivation.