Texas electricity demand didn’t set records this summer, but here’s why usage is up

Texas avoided breaking records for electricity demand this summer, but energy consumption is still rising.

During a quarterly board meeting last week, Electric Reliability Council of Texas leaders called the daytime hours this summer “uneventful.” They credited factors like milder weather and solar growth outpacing large load additions.

The maximum peak electricity demand this August was 83,679 megawatts, according to ERCOT.

That was a noticeable change from the past two summers when peak electricity demand surpassed 85,000 megawatts, including Aug. 10, 2023, hitting a record-breaking 85,508 MW.

“While we have been relatively flat in peak demands, we have been very rapidly growing in energy consumption,” CEO Pablo Vegas said at last week’s meeting.

Still, total energy consumption is expected to grow more than 5% this year compared to last, which Vegas said is five times faster than the national average annual consumption growth rate between 2000 and 2020.

Between 2010 and 2020, Texas had about double the national average growth rate ― but now that’s doubled again.

Vegas said it’s important for regulators to not lull themselves into complacency around the issues regarding reliability risks, because growth has continued aggressively as people and businesses flock to the state ― and more is still ahead.

Texas’ energy demand is expected to increase exponentially faster than other states in the next couple of years, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration survey.

“We’re seeing higher system utilization, which is good for a lot of reasons,” Austin-based energy analyst Doug Lewin said. “It’s healthy for generators, it’s good for distributing costs across a wider base, and, of course, having those lower peaks and net peaks makes a big difference for grid reliability.”

Many energy industry leaders have called for an “all of the above” approach to generation. Consumption is being driven higher as Texas adds to its already rapid population growth, the boom of data centers extends its march and oil and gas operations rely more on electricity.

Although fossil fuels have been largely synonymous with the Lone Star State, renewables are on the rise.

Texas led the nation in new solar capacity installed in 2023 and 2024, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, and a recent ERCOT report said Texas had nearly 40,000 MW of installed wind capacity as of July, which is the most of any state.

Meanwhile, the grid set new records this year for both solar and wind generation, according to the report.

This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.