EIA: US power consumption will surpass previous records in 2026 and '27, as AI usage surges.

?U.S. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), in its Tuesday Short-Term Energy Outlook, said that power consumption will continue to rise in 2026-2027.

The EIA projects that the power demand in 2025 will reach a record of 4,195 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), followed by 4,260 billion in 2026, and 4,388 billion in 2027.

The demand for electricity is increasing as more homes and businesses are using less fossil fuels to heat and transport their vehicles and use less data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

According to the EIA, power sales for residential customers will reach 1,535 billion kWh in 2026. Commercial customers will see 1,525 billion for commercial customers. Industrial customers are expected to get 1,056 billion for industrial consumers.

These forecasts are compared to the all-time highs of 1,517 kWh for residential consumers in 2025; 1,486 kWh in 2020 for commercial customers, and 1,064 kWh in 2000 for industrial customers.

The EIA predicted that as renewables increase, natural gas' share in power generation will remain at 40% in 2026 (the same as in 2025) before falling to 39% by 2027. Coal's share will fall from 17% in 2020 to 16% in 2030 and 15% in 2027.

According to the outlook, renewable energy will increase from 24% in 2025, to 25% in 2020, and 27% by 2027. Nuclear power will go from 18% to 19% before dropping to 18% again in 2027.

Gas sales for residential customers would drop to 13.1 billion cubic feet per day in 2026, while commercial and industrial customers would see a rise to 23.3 bcfd. However, power generation will increase to 36.2 bcfd.

These figures are compared to all-time records?14,3 bcfd for residential customers in 1996, 9.9 for commercial customers in 2025, 23.8 for industrial customers in 1973, and 36,8 for power generation in 2024. (Reporting and editing by Aurora Ellis; Scott DiSavino)

(source: Reuters)