Data Center, Crypto-Mining in 10 States Drive US Commercial Power Growth
Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, and Arizona led the way with the highest power demand growth, the agency said.
July 17, 2024
![Power lines in Arizona Power lines in Arizona](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt8eb3cdfc1fce5194/blt17b18aabea7880ff/6697ee6afa94f53d4d4e0bf8/Arizona-Power.jpg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale)
US commercial sector electricity use grew 1% last year from 2019 levels, but the growth was driven by data center development in 10 states, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The agency expects electricity sales to the US commercial sector will grow 3% this year and by 1% in 2025, largely driven by the development of large-scale computing facilities such as data centers and cryptocurrency operations, the EIA said in a June 28 report.
Commercial sector electricity demand in the 10 states with the most demand growth jumped 10%, or by a total of 42 billion kWh, between 2019 and 2023, according to the EIA. Demand in the 40 other states fell 3%, or by 28 billion kWh, in the same period.
Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, and Arizona led the way with the highest commercial sector demand growth, while Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey had the largest losses in commercial sales, the EIA said.
Read more of the latest data center power and energy news
Sales in North Dakota jumped 37% in the four-year period, the most of any state, according to the agency.
The EIA said it revised its outlook upwards for commercial sales after reviewing information from utilities and grid operators…
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