U.S. data center electricity demand is on track for another sharp increase in 2026, adding pressure to a power grid that is already straining to keep pace. Data center power demand is projected to climb from 31 gigawatts in 2025 to 41 gigawatts in 2026, lifting the sector share of peak summer demand from 4.1 percent to 5.3 percent, according to analysis cited by Goldman Sachs.
The installed base is substantial. More than 4,500 U.S. data centers now consume roughly 176 terawatt hours a year, about 4.4 percent of national electricity use, with over 700 additional facilities under construction across 38 states. The pace of new load has caught utilities off guard: the total of five-year future summer peak demand growth published by utilities jumped from 38 gigawatts in 2023 to 128 gigawatts in 2024.
Reliability risk is concentrated in regions where planned generation additions lag incoming demand, including the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-Continent, and Northwest markets. Grid operators in those areas face the prospect of tight reserve margins as large campuses connect faster than new supply comes online.
The cost is beginning to reach households. In Virginia, where data center growth is heaviest, Dominion proposed its first base-rate increase since 1992, adding about 8.51 dollars a month for a typical household in 2026. Utilities elsewhere are weighing similar moves, along with special tariffs and long-term power contracts designed to make large data center customers cover more of the infrastructure their loads require.
Source: Goldman Sachs - https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/us-data-center-power-demand-projected-to-double-by-2027