Frequently Asked Questions
Does EIA have data on peak and hourly electricity demand?
EIA publishes regional, annual, and projected peak electricity demand in Tables 8.6 to 8.9 in the section “Electric Power System Characteristics and Performance” of the Electric Power Annual.
Peak summer and winter demand for individual utilities are available in the EIA Form 861 database files.
EIA does not regularly collect or publish data on hourly electricity demand. You can access charts with a daily hourly load/demand profile for some Independent System Operators on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) website:
Learn More:
Electricity demand changes in predictable patterns, includes animated graph of hourly demand profile.
Case study of daily electricity demand in New England
Last updated: March 19, 2013
Other FAQs about Electricity
- Can I choose the electricity supplier where I live?
- Can I generate and sell electricity to an electric utility?
- Does EIA have city or county-level energy consumption and price data?
- Does EIA have county-level energy production data?
- Does EIA have data on each power plant in the United States?
- Does EIA have data on peak and hourly electricity demand?
- Does EIA have electricity prices by state?
- Does EIA have information on the service territories of U.S. electric utilities?
- Does EIA have maps or information on the location of electric power plants and transmission lines in the United States?
- Does EIA publish electric utility rate, tariff, and demand charge data?
- How is electricity used in U.S. homes?
- How many and what kind of power plants are there in the United States?
- How many nuclear power plants are in the U.S. and where are they located?
- How many smart meters are installed in the U.S. and who has them?
- How much coal, natural gas, or petroleum is used to generate a kilowatt-hour of electricity?
- How much does it cost to build different types of power plants in the United States?
- How much does it cost to generate electricity with different types of power plants?
- How much electricity does a typical nuclear power plant generate?
- How much electricity does an American home use?
- How much electricity is lost in transmission and distribution in the United States?
- How much electricity is used for cooling in the United States?
- How much electricity is used for lighting in the United States?
- How much energy is consumed in the world by each sector?
- How much of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are associated with electricity generation?
- How much of world energy consumption and electricity generation is from renewable energy?
- How old are U.S. power plants?
- What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source?
- What is a capacity factor?
- What is the difference between electricity generation capacity and electricity generation?
- What is the efficiency of different types of power plants?
- What is the outlook for home heating fuel prices this winter?
- What types and amounts of energy are produced in each state?