EIA expects U.S. power use to keep setting records, driven by data centers and electrification. What's behind the surge and what it means for bills.
U.S. electricity use is breaking records, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects it to keep climbing. In August 2025, the EIA projected power use would reach 4,186 billion kWh in 2025 and 4,284 billion kWh in 2026, topping the 2024 record of 4,097 billion kWh.
The drivers are data centers for AI and cryptocurrency, plus homes and businesses switching from fossil fuels to electricity for heating and transportation.
Here is what the EIA forecast, what the latest numbers show, and why rising demand is putting pressure on bills and on the clean energy buildout.
How Much Electricity Will the U.S. Use?
The EIA's August 2025 outlook projected U.S. power use of 4,186 billion kWh in 2025 and 4,284 billion kWh in 2026, both above the 2024 record of 4,097 billion kWh, according to Reuters.
The EIA's August 2026 outlook updated those numbers. Actual 2025 use came in at 4,195 billion kWh, slightly above the forecast. The agency now expects 4,268 billion kWh in 2026 and 4,391 billion kWh in 2027.
The direction hasn't changed. Demand is rising year after year, after nearly two decades of flat electricity use.
Why Is Rising Demand Such a Big Change?
For years, efficiency gains roughly offset growth in U.S. electricity use, so utilities planned for flat demand. That assumption no longer holds.
LED lighting, more efficient appliances, and shifts in manufacturing kept total demand fairly steady even as the economy grew. Utilities built their plans, and their rate structures, around that stability.
Now demand is rising again, and quickly. Grid planners have to add generation, transmission, and distribution capacity after years of focusing mostly on maintenance and replacement. That shift is a big reason utility spending and rates are climbing at the same time.
Which Customers Are Using More Power?
In its 2025 forecast, the EIA expected residential and commercial electricity use to hit new records, while industrial use stayed just below its all-time high.
The 2025 breakdown, according to Reuters:
- ●Residential. 1,515 billion kWh.
- ●Commercial. 1,476 billion kWh.
- ●Industrial. 1,051 billion kWh.
Commercial demand, driven largely by data centers, is catching up fast. The EIA has projected that commercial electricity use will surpass residential in 2027.
What's Driving the Surge in Demand?
The EIA points to two main drivers: data centers for AI and cryptocurrency, and electrification of heating and transportation.
Individual utilities are seeing this firsthand. American Electric Power expects to add 24 GW of new load by 2030, mostly from data centers.
Electrification adds steady growth on top. Heat pumps, electric vehicles, and electric industrial processes all shift energy use from fuels to the grid.
How Is the Power Mix Changing?
The EIA expects renewables to grow their share of U.S. generation while natural gas holds around 40% and coal and nuclear edge down.
The August 2025 forecast, according to Reuters:
- ●Natural gas. From 42% in 2024 to 40% in 2025 and 2026.
- ●Coal. From 16% in 2024 to 17% in 2025, then 15% in 2026.
- ●Renewables. From 23% in 2024 to 26% by 2026.
- ●Nuclear. From 19% in 2024 to 18% in 2025 and 2026.
The August 2026 update shows a slower path for renewables: 24% in 2025, 25% in 2026, and 27% in 2027, according to EnergyNow. Coal came in at 17% in 2025 and is expected to fall to 15% by 2027.
Solar is still expected to carry much of the growth. The EIA has projected utility-scale solar will supply most new U.S. generation.
Clean energy is growing. It's just not growing fast enough to meet all the new demand on its own.
Why Are Electricity Bills Rising?
When demand grows faster than new supply, utilities lean on existing plants, including coal, and invest heavily in grid upgrades, and customers pay for both.
Bills are rising across the country. PJM's capacity costs have pushed up bills in the Mid-Atlantic, and New York utilities have won multi-year rate increases.
Meanwhile, solar and wind face headwinds: permitting delays, interconnection backlogs, political resistance, and the phase-out of federal tax credits. That slows the resources that can be built fastest.
What Would It Take to Meet Rising Demand Affordably?
Meeting rising demand affordably will take faster grid upgrades, smarter policy, and making full use of the clean energy resources already built.
Key priorities:
- ●Faster interconnection. Clear queues so ready projects can connect.
- ●Grid upgrades. Transmission and distribution that keep up with load.
- ●Storage. Batteries that shift solar into evening peaks.
- ●Existing assets at full output. Solar already on the grid, producing what it should.
Growth alone isn't the goal. Reliability, affordability, and decarbonization all have to move together.
What Does This Mean for Existing Solar Owners?
Record demand makes every megawatt-hour from existing solar more valuable, because it's already built and connected while new supply struggles to keep up.
Many commercial systems installed in the 2010s are losing output to aging inverters or degraded panels. Repowering an aging PV system can restore that output without a new interconnection queue.
Start With a Ballpark Estimate
Demand is at record levels and still climbing. Find out what your existing solar project may be worth before deciding whether to repair, repower, or sell.
Sources: Reuters, "US power use to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026, EIA says"; EnergyNow, "US Power Use to Beat Record Highs in 2026 and 2027 as AI Use Surges, EIA Says"
Ready to Discuss Your Project?
Get your instant estimate or talk to our team about your legacy solar project.
