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Texas Power Demand Remains Near Record High Amid Sustained Heat, EIA says

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Electricity demand across the Electric Reliability Council of Texas has persisted near record levels, driven by a sustained wave of high temperatures across the state, Energy Information Administration strategists said in a note on Thursday.

The EIA said that hourly load on the ERCOT grid averaged a record 74.5 gigawatts for the week ending Aug. 22. Demand remained elevated the following week, with the hourly average for the week ending Aug. 29 coming in just below the peak at 73.7 GW, the agency said.

The mid-August demand surge outpaced historical figures, topping the previous weekly peak of 70 GW set in 2023 by 6% and exceeding the highest weekly average from the summer of 2025 by 10%.

The EIA attributed the persistently high electricity demand to sustained high temperatures. The agency said that the past six consecutive weeks, spanning from the week ending July 25 through the week ending Aug. 29, have all surpassed the previous 2023 weekly record.

Alexander Mey, energy economist at the EIA, said that the record-setting grid demand coincides with heightened regulatory scrutiny on large energy consumers.

ERCOT is currently auditing proposals from data centers seeking to connect to the power grid, following a moratorium on new data center interconnections implemented by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

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