The U.S. Energy Information Administration released its forecasts for 2026, which projected a drop in average gas prices driven by dipping demand in crude oil.
The administration also projected the strongest four-year growth in U.S. electricity demand since 2000, driven largely by rising power needs from data centers and other large computing facilities.
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Oil and Gas
In its January Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA projected that Brent crude oil prices will average $69 per barrel in 2025 before falling to $55 in 2026 and $58 in 2027, as global liquid fuels production outpaces demand.
U.S. crude oil production is expected to peak at 13.6 million barrels through 2026 before slipping to 13.4 million barrels per day in 2027.
Lower crude oil prices are also expected to push average U.S. gasoline prices down to about $2.90 per gallon in 2026.
Electricity
The EIA projected that electricity use will increase 1% this year and 3% in 2027, marking the first time in nearly two decades that demand has grown for four consecutive years (Last time: 2007).
Natural Gas and Solar
Abbey added that natural gas supply is critical, as the EIA forecasts that nation’s electricity demand will rise through 2027, driven largely by increasing demand from large data centers.
“U.S. energy production remains strong, and natural gas output is expected to grow to nearly 109 billion cubic feet per day this year,” EIA Administrator Tristan Abbey said in a statement.
On the power generation side, solar energy is forecast to deliver the largest growth, increasing generation by 21% in both 2026 and 2027 following the addition of nearly 70 gigawatts of new capacity.
Natural gas is expected to remain the largest source of U.S. electricity generation at about 39% through 2027, while coal’s share continues to decline.
The EIA projects U.S. carbon dioxide emissions will edge down from 4.9 billion metric tons in 2025 to 4.8 billion metric tons in 2026 and 2027.