US power usage will exceed past records in 2026 and 2027 due to a rise in AI adoption.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook, released on Tuesday, indicated that electricity consumption is expected to keep increasing in 2026-2027, driven by the growth of AI data centers and electrification.

The EIA anticipates that electricity demand will rise from 4,195 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025 to 4,269 billion in 2026, and further to 4,399 billion in 2027.

This growing demand for electricity is attributed to more households and businesses moving towards electric heating and vehicles, reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.

The agency noted that the surge in electricity demand is chiefly due to expansion in the commercial sector. For the first time, residential electricity demand is projected to exceed commercial demand in 2026.

In that year, the EIA forecasts residential electricity sales will drop to 1,508 billion kilowatt-hours, while commercial sales will increase to 1,550 billion kilowatt-hours and industrial sales will reach 1,065 billion kilowatt-hours.

These projections are compared to historical highs of 1,515 billion kilowatt-hours for residential customers in 2025, 1,493 billion for commercial clients, and 1,064 billion for industrial users in 2000.

The EIA reports that as renewable energy usage grows, coal's contribution to power generation is set to decrease from 17% to 15% by 2026-2027, while natural gas is expected to remain steady at 40% during this period.

According to the outlook, the share of renewable energy is projected to rise from 24% in 2025 to 27% in 2027, with nuclear energy maintaining a steady 18% through 2026 or 2027.

Residential gas sales are projected to fall to 12.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), while commercial customers will see an increase of 9.5 bcfd. Industrial customers are expected to experience a significant rise of 24.0 bcfd and 36.6 bcfd in power generation.

These statistics are benchmarked against all-time highs of 14.3 bcfd for residential customers in 1996, 9.9 bcfd for commercial clients in 2025, 23.8 bcfd for industrial users in 1973, and 36.8 bcfd for electricity generation in 2024.