US power use to beat record highs in 2026 and 2027 as AI use surges, EIA says

As renewable output rises, the EIA said the share of power generation from coal will slide from 17% in 2025 to 16% in 2026 and 15% in 2027, while the share of natural gas will hold at 40% in 2026 and 2027, the same as in 2025.

The percentage of renewable generation will rise from around 24% in 2025 to 25% in 2026 and 27% in 2027, while nuclear power's share will hold at 18% in 2026 and 2027, the same as in 2025, according to the outlook.

The EIA projected that gas sales in 2026 would slide to 12.5 billion cubic feet per day for residential consumers and 9.5 bcfd for commercial customers but rise to 23.9 bcfd for industrial customers and 36.6 bcfd for power generation.

Those figures compare with all-time highs of 14.3 bcfd in 1996 for residential consumers, 9.9 bcfd in 2025 for commercial customers, 23.8 bcfd in 1973 for industrial customers, and 36.8 bcfd in 2024 for power generation.