Texas Grid Operator’s Weekly Average Load Remains Near Record High: EIA

High temperatures that have persisted across Texas have kept electricity demand elevated in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the grid for most of the state, according to a Sept. 3 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Hourly load in the region averaged a record 74.5 gigawatts (GW) for the week ending Aug. 22, 2026. That was 10 percent greater than the highest hourly average for any week in summer of 2025 and 6 percent above the previous record of 70 GW set in 2023.

Average hourly load for the following week came in just below that mark at 73.7 GW, and the past six weeks have all exceeded the 2023 record amid sustained high temperatures across Texas.

The record demand comes as ERCOT audits data center interconnection proposals following Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Aug. 3 moratorium on new data center grid connections. The interconnection queue includes about 474 GW, roughly 90 percent of which is tied to data center projects.

ERCOT is expected to file its audit findings with the Public Utility Commission of Texas by Dec.10.