The US is about to consume more electricity than it ever has. The Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook projects that national power demand will shatter records in both 2026 and 2027, with data centers, AI workloads, and cryptocurrency mining identified as the primary culprits behind the surge.

The country hasn’t seen electricity demand growth like this since the 2000 to 2007 period.

The numbers behind the power grab

According to the EIA’s projections, US electricity demand already hit an unprecedented 4,195 billion kWh in 2025. That record won’t last long.

The agency forecasts demand climbing to between 4,244 and 4,271 billion kWh in 2026. By 2027, that figure is expected to reach approximately 4,381 to 4,397 billion kWh, based on April through June 2026 STEO projections.

The commercial sector is outpacing every other electricity-consuming segment, and data centers are the main reason why. The EIA specifically calls out AI applications and crypto mining operations as core growth factors, with Texas and the mid-Atlantic regions bearing the heaviest load of new data center buildouts.

The generation mix is shifting fast

The EIA projects renewable energy sources will constitute 25 to 27% of the electricity generation mix by 2027. Coal’s share is expected to fall to around 15% by 2027. Natural gas remains the workhorse of American power generation, projected to hold steady at approximately 40% of the mix.

What this means for crypto investors

New York already set a precedent with its 2022 moratorium on certain types of crypto mining operations, and other states could follow as demand projections become harder to ignore.

Mining margins, already compressed after the April 2024 halving, would face additional pressure if electricity demand surges faster than new generation capacity comes online. The miners best positioned to weather this environment are those with long-term fixed-rate power contracts or direct access to renewable generation, not those buying power at spot market rates.

AI data centers and crypto miners are increasingly competing for the same power capacity. When a hyperscaler like Microsoft or Google locks up hundreds of megawatts for a new AI training facility, that’s capacity unavailable to mining operations. The EIA’s data suggests this competition will only intensify through 2027.