EIA: US power consumption will surpass previous records in 2026 and '27, as AI usage surges.
The Energy Information Administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook released on Tuesday predicted that U.S. power?consumption will continue to rise in 2026-2027. This is the second consecutive annual record set by 2025.
The EIA projects that the power demand in 2025 will reach a record of 4,195 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), followed by 4,244 billion kWh, and then 4,381 billion in 2027.
The demand for electricity is increasing as more homes and businesses are using less fossil fuels to heat and transport, and because of the data centers that focus on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
According to the EIA, power sales for residential consumers will reach 1,520 billion kWh in 2026. Commercial customers are expected to sell 1,528 billion and industrial customers 1,053 billion.
These forecasts are compared to?all-time peaks of 1,515 billions kWh by 2025 for residential customers, 1,493 trillions kWh by 2025 for commercial clients and 1,064 trillions kWh by 2000 for industrial consumers.
The EIA says that as renewable energy grows, coal's share in power generation will decline from 17% to 16% by 2026. The EIA said that the share of natural gas would drop from 40% in 2020 to 39% in 2026, before returning to 40% in 2030.
According to the outlook, nuclear power will remain at 18% by 2025, 2026 and 2027.
Gas sales for residential customers would drop to 12.6 billion cubic feet per day in 2026, while commercial and industrial customers would see a rise of 9.4 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 Deepa Babyington, Scott DiSavino)
(source: Reuters)
