According to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. electricity consumption has essentially been flat for nearly two decades. Electricity demand increases that did occur were generally associated with population growth and economic growth, but were offset by efficiency improvements and other structural changes in the economy, such as the transition from manufacturing to service sectors that tend to consume less energy.

According to the EIA, “total electricity consumption” includes sales to ultimate customers in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, and, to a lesser extent, sales to public transportation customers and the direct use of electricity at industrial facilities that produce power.

In EIA’s latest “Short-Term Energy Outlook,” however, it expects U.S. annual electricity consumption to increase in 2025 and 2026, surpassing the all-time high reached in 2024. “This growth contrasts with the trend of relatively flat electricity demand between the mid-2000s and early 2020s,” said the report. “Much of the recent and forecasted growth in electricity consumption is coming from the commercial sector, which includes data centers, and the industrial sector, which includes manufacturing establishments.”

Put in other terms, U.S. electricity consumption has more recently increased since a relative low point in 2020. From 2020 through the end of EIA’s short-term forecast in 2026, it expects electricity consumption to grow at an average rate of 1.7 percent per year. The commercial and industrial sectors are expected to grow faster in the forecast, at an average of 2.6 percent and 2.1 percent per year, respectively. Forecast electricity sales to the residential sector, which largely depend on year-to-year temperature fluctuations, are expected to grow on average 0.7 percent between 2020 and 2026.

“Expected electricity demand growth is spurring expansion in generating capacity and electricity storage,” said the EIA. “Much of this additional capacity is from solar and battery storage facilities. The new generating capacity is concentrated in Texas, California, the upper Midwest, and the Northeast.”

The report also noted that electric utilities, grid operators, regulators, and other stakeholders are also committed to energy efficiency and demand response programs. This information is based on analysis conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), as well as EIA’s utility spending data. In addition, utilities are expanding networks of high-voltage transmission lines to maintain system balancing and to ensure reliable electric service.