Articles tagged with "electricity-demand"
Why US Power Bills Are Surging
The article explains the recent surge in U.S. electricity bills, which have risen by more than 30 percent on average since 2020, causing widespread financial strain for consumers and economic disruption across multiple sectors. Several factors contribute to this increase, including rising electricity demand, volatile fuel prices, inflation, tariffs, delays in building new transmission lines, and slow additions of new power generators. These combined pressures suggest that high electricity prices may persist for the foreseeable future. The impact is particularly severe on lower- and moderate-income households, many of whom are already struggling to pay bills and face increasing risks of power shutoffs. Despite the current spike in electricity costs, the article provides broader context by highlighting that overall household energy spending—covering electricity, natural gas, and gasoline—has remained relatively stable since 2000 when adjusted for inflation. This stability is partly due to a growing trend of electrification in homes, such as switching from gas furnaces to heat pumps and from gasoline vehicles to electric motors,
energyelectricity-pricespower-billsenergy-policyenergy-crisisutility-rateselectricity-demandWhy the US power grid upgrade could top $1 trillion
The U.S. electric grid is facing a critical need for a massive upgrade, potentially costing over $1 trillion, due to aging infrastructure, rapidly increasing electricity demand, and the challenges posed by integrating renewable energy sources. The grid, much of which dates back to the post-World War II era, was originally designed for a stable, one-way flow of electricity from large coal and nuclear plants. However, the rise of intermittent renewable energy like solar and wind, combined with surging demand from electric vehicles, heat pumps, and energy-intensive AI data centers, has created a volatile supply-demand dynamic that the current grid cannot reliably manage. The American Society of Civil Engineers has rated the nation’s energy infrastructure a D+, underscoring its vulnerability. Addressing these challenges requires unprecedented investment: targeted modernization efforts involve billions in federal funding and over a trillion dollars in private utility spending projected through 2029. Efforts are already underway, including the installation of high-voltage DC transmission lines to transport solar power over
energypower-gridrenewable-energysmart-gridenergy-infrastructuregrid-modernizationelectricity-demandHeat Waves — U.S. Electricity Peak Demand Set New Records Twice in July - CleanTechnica
In late July 2025, electricity demand in the contiguous United States reached record highs on two consecutive days, driven primarily by intense heat waves that increased cooling needs. On July 28, the coincident peak demand hit 758,053 megawatts (MW) between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by an even higher peak of 759,180 MW on July 29. This latter figure surpassed the previous record set on July 15, 2024, which was 745,020 MW, marking a 1.9% increase. The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that electricity demand served by the power sector will grow at just over 2% annually through 2025 and 2026. Growth is expected to be particularly strong in regions with expanding data centers and manufacturing, such as Texas and Northern Virginia. The reported coincident peak demand reflects a simultaneous snapshot across the entire Lower 48 states, though
energyelectricity-demandpeak-loadUS-energy-gridpower-sectorenergy-forecastclimate-impactWe Expect Rapid Electricity Demand Growth in Texas & the Mid-Atlantic - CleanTechnica
The article from CleanTechnica discusses the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecast, which anticipates a significant acceleration in retail electricity sales growth nationwide. Specifically, U.S. electricity demand is expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.2% in 2025 and 2026, a notable increase from the 0.8% average growth seen between 2020 and 2024. This surge is primarily driven by rapid demand growth in Texas, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and several mid-Atlantic states within the PJM Interconnection grid. ERCOT’s electricity demand is forecasted to grow by 7% in 2025 and 14% in 2026, fueled by the coming online of large data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities. Similarly, the PJM region is expected to see growth rates of 3% in 2025 and 4% in
energyelectricity-demandERCOTPJM-Interconnectiondata-centersretail-electricity-salesU.S.-Energy-Information-AdministrationElectricity Demand in the Eastern United States Surged from Heat Wave - CleanTechnica
A significant heat wave across the Eastern United States in late June 2025 caused electricity demand to surge to multiyear highs in two major regional grids. On June 23, the PJM Interconnection, the largest wholesale electricity market covering 13 states and D.C., reached a peak load of 160,560 MW between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., approaching but not surpassing its 2006 record of 165,563 MW. This demand spike drove real-time wholesale electricity prices to a peak of $1,334/MWh at 7:00 p.m., a sharp increase from $52/MWh a week earlier. Generation during this peak was primarily from natural gas (44%), nuclear (20%), and coal (19%), with solar contributing 6%. Notably, petroleum-based generation tripled compared to the previous day, reflecting its use as a costly but necessary resource during extreme demand. The following day, June 24, the ISO New England
energyelectricity-demandpower-gridrenewable-energynatural-gassolar-powerenergy-pricesRenewables as a Bridge to Gas? America's Energy Logic Goes Backwards - CleanTechnica
The article discusses a controversial statement made by John Ketchum, CEO of NextEra Energy, at the Politico Energy Summit in June 2025, where he suggested that renewables like wind, solar, and storage should be viewed as a temporary "bridge" to expanding natural gas generation. This reverses the long-standing narrative that natural gas is a bridge fuel toward a renewable future. Ketchum’s argument centers on the urgent need for new electricity capacity in the near term, driven by rising demand from AI data centers, electric vehicles, and broader electrification. He emphasized that renewables are currently the only energy sources deployable quickly enough to prevent reliability crises, whereas new gas infrastructure faces significant delays. The delays in gas turbine deployment—often five to seven years—stem from manufacturing backlogs caused by limited production capacity, aging infrastructure, supply chain disruptions, and workforce shortages, rather than surging global demand. This bottleneck is partly a consequence of the market’s long-term shift away from
energyrenewable-energynatural-gassolar-powerwind-energyenergy-storageelectricity-demandMeta strikes 20-year nuclear power deal to fuel AI and save Illinois reactor
energynuclear-powerclean-energyAIdata-centerselectricity-demandrenewable-energyMicrogrids Could Enhance Grid Resilience
energymicrogridsgrid-resiliencerenewable-energydisaster-recoveryelectricity-demandlocal-energy-solutionsCalifornia’s Energy Revolution: Sunrun Quadruples Virtual Power Plant Ahead Of Summer
energyvirtual-power-plantdecentralized-powerCalifornia-energyelectricity-demandrenewable-energybackup-power