By Scott DiSavino
(Reuters) – U.S. power consumption will rise to record highs in 2024 and 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its Short Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday.
EIA projected power demand will rise to 4,086 billion kilowatt-hours in 2024 and 4,165 billion kWh in 2025. That compares with 4,012 billion kWh in 2023 and a record 4,067 billion kWh in 2022.
With growing demand from artificial intelligence and data centers and as homes and businesses use more electricity for heat and transportation, EIA forecast 2024 power sales will rise to 1,494 billion kWh for residential consumers, 1,420 billion kWh for commercial customers and 1,026 billion kWh for industrial customers.
Those forecasts compare to all-time highs of 1,509 billion kWh for residential consumers in 2022, 1,408 billion kWh in 2023 for commercial customers and 1,064 billion kWh in 2000 for industrial customers.
EIA said natural gas‘ share of power generation would rise from 42% in 2023 to 43% in 2024 before sliding to 40% in 2025. Coal’s share will ease from 17% in 2023 to 15% in 2024 and 2025, as renewable output rises.
The percentage of renewable generation will rise from 22% in 2023 to 23% in 2024 and 25% in 2025, while nuclear power’s share will hold at 19% in 2024 and 2025, the same as 2023, according to the energy outlook.
EIA projected 2024 gas sales would ease to 12.1 billion cubic feet per day for residential consumers and 23.3 bcfd for industrial customers, hold at 9.1 bcfd for commercial customers and rise to 37.0 bcfd for power generation.
That compares with all-time highs of 14.3 bcfd in 1996 for residential consumers, 9.6 bcfd in 2019 for commercial customers, 23.8 bcfd in 1973 for industrial customers and 35.5 bcfd in 2023 for power generation.
