EIA: US power consumption will surpass records in 2026 and '27

The Energy Information Administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook released on Tuesday said that the U.S. electricity consumption will continue to rise in 2026-2027. This is after it reached its second consecutive record?high in 2025.

The EIA predicted that power demand would rise from 4,195 billion kilowatt hours in 2025, to 4,268 in 2026, and 4,372 in 2027.

The demand for electricity is increasing, in part because of data centers dedicated to artificial?cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. Also, homes and businesses are using less fossil fuels to heat and transport their vehicles and use more electricity.

In 2026, the?EIA predicts that residential customers will purchase 1,541 billion kWh of power. Commercial customers will buy 1,520 billion and industrial consumers 1,063 billion.

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

The EIA predicted that as renewable energy output increases, the percentage of electricity generated by natural gas will remain at 40% in 2025-2026 and then drop to 39% in 2030. Coal's share will drop from 17% to 16% by 2026, and then 15% by 2027.

According to the outlook, nuclear power will continue to hold at 18% of total generation in 2025, 2020, and 2027.

Gas sales for residential customers in 2026 are expected to remain at 13.1 billion cubic feet per a day, while commercial gas sales will drop to 9.7 billion cubic feet a day, industrial gas sales will decrease to 23.3 Bcfd, and power generation is projected to increase to 36.2 Bcfd.

These figures are compared to all-time records of 14,3 bcfd for residential customers in 1996, 9.8 for commercial customers in 2025, 23.8 for industrial customers in 1973, and 36,8 for power generation in 2024. Reporting by Scott DiSavino, Editing by Rod Nickel

(source: Reuters)