Electricity Rising: US Power Demand Grows

Change in electricity demand by select states, 2013-2022
percentage growth

Just like ugly Christmas sweaters, there’s been a growing demand for electricity in the United States.

What happened: Recently analysis by the Wall Street Journal found that, while US-wide electricity demand grew ~5 percent between 2013 and 2022, there were a few outlier states that were significantly higher.

• In particular, North Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Oregon, and New Mexico have seen higher demand growth off the backs of industrial development.

North Dakota and New Mexico needed extra power to electrify their oilfields, while Oregon and Virigina saw demand increase mostly from growing high-tech sectors. Texas was an all-of-the-above situation, with bitcoin mining, a new gigafactory outside Austin, and LNG facilities drawing on extra electricity. Not to mention just overall population growth.

The lesson: Electrification can feel like a universal term, but the extra demand for electricity will be much more regional, depending on local industries.

+Bonus reading: Electricity Use Booms in Texas, a Harbinger for the Country