Weekly average load in ERCOT continues near record high

Texas has been setting electricity demand records this summer. For the week ending August 22, 2026, average power use across the state's main grid, run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), hit 74.5 gigawatts, the highest weekly average ever recorded there. That's 10% higher than any week last summer and 6% above the previous record set in 2023. The following week came in only slightly lower, at 73.7 gigawatts. In fact, every week from late July through the end of August this year has topped the old 2023 record. The cause is straightforward: long stretches of extreme heat have pushed air conditioners into near-constant use across millions of homes.

For a Texas homeowner, this kind of sustained demand is a reminder of how much strain summer heat puts on both the grid and your own cooling costs. Homes that lose cool air easily, through gaps around windows, doors, or attics, end up running air conditioning harder and longer during heat waves like this one, which shows up directly on the electric bill.

Separately, ERCOT is now reviewing a wave of proposals from data centers wanting to connect to the grid, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott put a temporary hold on new data center hookups. That review is about managing future strain on the grid from large commercial users, not something that changes anything for individual households right now, but it reflects how much added demand the state's power system is being asked to handle.