Signal EIA's AEO2026 runs 11 scenarios and sees US power use rising 0.9 to 1.6 percent a year to 2050

Summary

The US Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Outlook 2026 runs eleven scenarios combining technology and policy assumptions alongside its reference outlook. These include a counterfactual baseline and cases on economic growth, oil and gas supply, zero-carbon technology costs, electricity demand and alternative power and transport policies. It projects US electricity consumption to grow 0.9 to 1.6 percent a year through 2050, naming data centre server use as a key driver. In the high electricity demand case, data centre servers alone could consume 818 billion kWh in 2050. Efficiency also appears explicitly, as transport energy use falls from 27 quads in 2025 to between 21 and 25 quads in 2050 thanks to more efficient and zero-emission powertrains.