Electricity demand in the Lower 48 states hit record highs twice in late July due to extreme heat and a growing baseline demand. On July 28 and 29, peak demand reached over 758,000 MW and 759,000 MW, respectively, surpassing the previous July 15 record of 745,020 MW. The US Energy Information Administration projects electricity demand to grow more than 2% annually through 2026, especially in areas with expanding data centers and manufacturing, like Texas and Northern Virginia. They write:
Electricity demand in the Lower 48 states exceeded previous peaks on two days in the last week of July.
Hot weather, which increases electricity demand for cooling, combined with an underlying trend of demand increases, pushed coincident peak demand for the Lower 48 states to a high of 758,053 megawatts (MW) on July 28 between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. eastern time, according to the preliminary data in our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor. The next day, peak demand set another record, reaching 759,180 MW, 1.9% more than the record set on July 15, 2024 of 745,020 MW.
We forecast U.S. electricity demand fulfilled by the electric power sector will grow at an annual rate of just over 2% in 2025 and 2026, according to our Short-Term Energy Outlook. Until 2020, electricity demand was relatively flat. Forecast electricity demand growth is higher in areas with plans for large data centers and manufacturing facilities, such as in Texas and in Northern Virginia.
Coincident peak demand represents a simultaneous snapshot across the entire Lower 48 states; system peaks in individual regions or utility areas may have occurred at different hours or even on different days.
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