U.S. electricity demand stagnated during the past two decades because of the introduction of energy-efficient technologies like LED lightbulbs and modern appliances. Between 2005 and 2024, electricity consumption rose at just 0.5% annually, and the utilities sector underperformed the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC 1.07% ) by 210 percentage points.

However, Goldman Sachs estimates U.S. electricity consumption will increase at 2.4% annually through 2030 as three major tailwinds converge: electrification of vehicles and industrial equipment, increased domestic manufacturing activity, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

Electricity consumption has not increased so quickly since the internet went mainstream in the late 1990s. In that sense, the utilities sector look

See Full Page