A Publication of The Hedley Company | Week Ending May 10, 2026 | Vol. 1, No. 19
KEY SIGNALS | WEEK ENDING MAY 10, 2026
SECTION 1 | ELECTRICITY DEMAND & CONSUMPTION
The affordability alarm is ringing louder. The national average residential electricity rate hit 18.05 cents per kilowatt-hour in May 2026 — a 21 percent increase from 14.92 cents just four years ago. The 5.4 percent year-over-year jump in 2026 reversed a two-year slowdown and reflects the convergence of three forces: higher natural gas prices, grid modernization and weather-hardening capital costs being passed to ratepayers, and the first wave of data center infrastructure costs clearing utility rate cases. The demand picture has shifted from a planning problem to an operational reality. PJM’s load forecast for 2027-28 is already 5,250 MW higher than the prior year, driven almost entirely by data centers. MISO is projecting 2-3 GW of new peak demand for its 2026-27 delivery year. ERCOT saw its large-load queue nearly quadruple in a single year. The grid is moving faster than the planners’ models can track.
Sources: EIA April 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook (April 7, 2026); Electric Choice, “Electricity Rates by State May 2026” (current data); NERC LTRA 2025 (January 29, 2026); PJM 2027/28 BRA results (December 17, 2025); MISO 2026/27 PRA results (April 28-30, 2026); Deloitte 2026 Power and Utilities Industry Outlook.
