Projected peak demand growth
NERC’s 2025 assessment outlook for summer peak demand growth. A planning estimate, not a live measurement.
NERC / 2025 ASSESSMENT
STATE OF THE GRID / AN INTERACTIVE FIELD GUIDEMore demand.
More demand.
New pressure.
A different grid.
The way we make, move and use electricity is changing.
Understand the bottlenecks—and where your home fits in.
GENERATION → TRANSMISSION → YOUR HOMEPublished research + educational models
Separate from live outage information
Separate from live outage information
01 / THE PRESSUREIt takes more than
It takes more than
another power plant.
New data centers, manufacturing, electrification and weather-sensitive demand put pressure on a system that develops over decades. Generation is one part of the answer. Delivering it is another.
Seeking a connection
Approximately 1,312 GW of generation and 749 GW of storage in queues at year-end 2025. Proposed projects may change or withdraw.
BERKELEY LAB / QUEUED UP 2026From coordinated home batteries
Reported in California’s July 29, 2025 demonstration. Thousands of small contributions can become a meaningful response.
PG&E + EDISON / JULY 202502 / FOLLOW THE ELECTRICITYOne network.
One network.
Five critical stages.
Explore each stage to see what it does, where delays can emerge, and why a household’s experience depends on the whole journey.
01 / GENERATION
Where electricity begins.
Power plants, solar and wind turn primary energy into electricity. More proposed generation does not automatically mean power can be delivered where it is needed.
THE CONSTRAINT
New capacity must be built, tested and connected. A queue entry is a proposal, not an operating plant.
02 / TRANSMISSION
The long-distance journey.
High-voltage lines connect generation with regional demand. The right power can exist in the wrong place if transmission capacity is constrained.
THE CONSTRAINT
Studies, rights of way, permits and construction can take years. A line also needs equipment and protection systems.
03 / SUBSTATIONChange the voltage.
Change the voltage.
Connect the network.
Substations switch electricity between parts of the grid and change its voltage for the next stage of the journey.
THE CONSTRAINT
Transformers, protection, equipment procurement and local planning can become bottlenecks.
04 / DISTRIBUTION
The last mile is shared.
Local lines and neighborhood transformers serve streets and buildings. Many everyday customer outages occur here, separate from a regional supply shortage.
THE CONSTRAINT
Weather, vegetation, equipment condition and changing neighborhood loads affect reliability.
05 / YOUR HOME
A new role for the home.
The home can consume, generate, store and sometimes share electricity. That creates flexibility at the edge of the network.
THE CONSTRAINT
Backup needs compatible equipment and configured circuits. Grid participation needs the right program and operating settings.
Educational diagram. It does not represent a specific circuit, utility project or outage.
03 / THE BOTTLENECKDemand can arrive
01 02 03
Demand can arrive
before the infrastructure.
Connection studies, transmission upgrades, substations, permits and equipment procurement develop on different timelines. Even a large pipeline of proposed energy projects cannot bypass every constraint.
Connection & permitting
Studies establish what a new project needs to connect safely. Some proposals never become operating assets.
Equipment & construction
Transformers and other specialized equipment require lead time. Upgrades must be coordinated across a working network.
Local delivery
A regional supply improvement does not automatically replace the lines and transformer serving a particular street.
THE HOUSEHOLD IMPACTInfrastructure has a cost.
Infrastructure has a cost.
So does uncertainty.
Investment, wildfire mitigation, generation and tariff decisions can affect bills. The source’s example of 40¢/kWh growing about 6.5% annually toward 70¢ by 2035 is a compounding illustration, not an approved future rate.
Build your own bill scenario ↗04 / THE GRID GETS CLOSER TO HOMEYour home can
Your home can
change its role.
Local generation, storage and flexible demand can complement the grid. Explore three operating conditions to see the differences.
Roof solar
Home loads
Battery
Illustrative flow / not live meteringDAYTIME / GENERATE & STORE
Make power close to where you use it.
Solar can serve household loads and charge a compatible battery. Extra generation may export under your tariff. The diagram simplifies equipment and energy flow.
SHAREA network of small batteries.
Backup is a design decision.
A network of small batteries.
A larger collective response.
Understand VPP events, reserve controls and compensation.
Explore Virtual Power Plants ↗PREPAREBackup is a design decision.
Start with essential loads.
Compare circuits, runtime and the equipment your household needs.
Plan your backup power ↗A HOUSEHOLD DECISION, GROUNDED IN THE DETAILSUnderstand the system.
Understand the system.
Then choose your next step.
Solar and storage can support household resilience and grid flexibility. The right design, program and agreement matter more than a broad promise.
PROJECT COST ≠ GUARANTEED FUNDING
The source’s representative $24,900 system and no-upfront-payment example illustrate an offer structure. Actual equipment, home upgrades, incentives, ongoing payments and coverage must be confirmed in a written proposal.
05 / THE EVIDENCEA clearer picture.
A clearer picture.
With the sources attached.
Published figures, educational models and live observations serve different purposes. Keep those distinctions in view.
01 / NERC
2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment
Published demand outlook and resource adequacy. A planning assessment, not a prediction that power will fail.
Read the source ↗02 / BERKELEY LABQueued Up / interconnection research
Proposed generation and storage seeking connection. Queue capacity is not a forecast of completed construction.
Read the source ↗03 / PG&ECalifornia’s July 2025 battery demonstration
Reported delivery from coordinated home batteries on July 29, 2025. A demonstration, not a payout promise.
Read the source ↗04 / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISONHome batteries supporting the grid
A utility account of distributed energy participation and its role during high demand.
Read the source ↗NATIONAL GRID INTELLIGENCE
A wider view of resilience.
Explore the U.S. grid forecast
Compare states, inspect model assumptions, and explore how defined stress scenarios change the research model.
Open the interactive atlasFollow the recorded changes
Browse weekly and monthly reports, model inputs, source health, and recorded observations.
Open the report archive