Electricity demand in the Lower 48 states of the USA exceeded all previous peaks on two days in the last week of July, according to figures published by the US Energy Information Administration. 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 MW on 28 July between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm eastern time, according to the preliminary data in the EIA’s Hourly Electricity Grid Monitor. The next day, peak demand set another record, reaching 759 180 MW, 1.9% more than the record of 745 020 MW set on 15 July 2024.
EIA forecasts that US electricity demand met by the electric power sector will grow at an annual rate of just over 2% in 2025 and 2026, according to its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Until 2020 electricity demand was relatively flat. Forecast electricity demand growth is higher in areas with plans for large data centres 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.
