PJM, ERCOT and SPP set peak-load records in summer 2026; ERCOT's new high is 6.5% above 2024
Serguey Asael Shinder2 min readThree US regional transmission organisations set new records for peak hourly load in summer 2026, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on 15 October, citing data reported on Form EIA-930 and shown in its Hourly Electric Grid Monitor.
The three records:
- PJM peaked at 162.6 GW on 2 July 2026, 1.3% above its previous peak of 160.6 GW on 23 June 2025.
- ERCOT peaked at 91.1 GW on 22 July 2026, 6.5% above its previous record of 85.5 GW on 20 August 2024 — the largest step of the three.
- SPP (Southwest Power Pool) peaked at 58.0 GW on 27 July 2026, 3.5% above its previous high of 56.0 GW on 21 August 2023.
EIA says most of these peaks came during regional heat waves in what was the hottest summer on record nationally, which pushed up cooling demand.
Four more grids came close. CAISO reached 50.0 GW on 9 September, against its record of 51.1 GW from 6 September 2022. ISO-NE reached 25.3 GW on 2 July, below its record of 25.9 GW on 24 June 2025. NYISO reached 31.1 GW on 2 July, below its record of 31.9 GW in the hourly data; EIA notes that NYISO itself reports a record of 34.0 GW from 2013, before EIA collected hourly data. MISO peaked at 121.5 GW on 30 June, the highest in EIA's monitor but below the 127.1 GW that MISO reports for 20 July 2011.
Three peaks on one day. On EIA's figures, PJM, ISO-NE and NYISO all hit their 2026 maxima on the same day, 2 July, while the ERCOT and SPP records came three weeks later in late July and CAISO's high arrived only in September.
How far to trust the numbers. EIA stresses that Form EIA-930 data are reported by each balancing authority and published "as-is". They represent the best values at the time of reporting, various reporting issues may limit their quality, and data published directly by the balancing authorities may differ.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy — https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=68305