The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its September Short-Term Energy Outlook, released Sept. 9, 2026, that U.S. electricity sales will hit records of 4,135 billion kilowatthours (BkWh) in 2026 and 4,211 BkWh in 2027. EIA attributes the climb to data-center development and more manufacturing, even as Texas audits requests to connect new data centers to its grid.
EIA counts that growth in the commercial and industrial sectors. It forecasts that commercial electricity sales will rise 3.3% in 2026 and 2.7% in 2027, making up most of the added demand in those years, with industrial sales adding more.
In a separate press release, EIA says U.S. electricity generation, the total output of power plants, will grow 2.2% to a record 4,368 BkWh in 2026 and rise another 1.7% in 2027. Generation is a different measure from the sales totals in the outlook.
Even with Texas pausing grid connections for new data-center projects, EIA expects the West South Central region, which includes Texas, to account for the largest share of national electricity-sales growth: nearly 20% in 2026 and nearly 40% in 2027. On Aug. 3, 2026, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to audit data centers' requests to connect before the projects move forward. He cited more than 474 gigawatts of connection requests, more than five times the Texas grid's record peak demand, and said about 90% of the requests come from data centers.
The forecast could shift with the Texas audit: how long it holds back new connections, and whether delayed projects are approved or dropped, will shape the region's growth. It is also uncertain how much of the data-center demand EIA expects becomes electricity actually used, rather than requests waiting in line to connect.