AI Summary

U.S. electricity demand is set to rise nearly 2 percent in 2026 and 2.5 percent the following year, according to the Energy Information Administration, driven by data centers, manufacturing and the electrification of transportation, heating and cooling. That growth rate is about 50 times the average annual increase of 0.1 percent recorded between 2005 and 2019. The surge is prompting utilities to rethink planning, investment and customer engagement, and to begin developing their own generation assets at a scale and speed they have not previously undertaken. Alex Pope, manager of power‑development portfolios at 1898 & Co., noted that utilities traditionally design a gas plant only every five to ten years and rely on power‑purchase agreements for other capacity.

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