Electricity and the Power Grid

During peak demand events, dispatchable generation carries the load: in the June 2025 heat dome, generation across five U.S. grids peaked at 401,000 MW (nearly 55% of national output), while Winter Storm Fern saw dispatchable sources supply 85–90% of ERCOT, MISO, and PJM demand.

This briefing examines the feasibility and pace of net-zero pathways, comparing projected U.S. emissions contributions from new gas-fired plants and vehicles against global totals, and assessing grid reliability, electrification costs, and hydrocarbons' persistent role in global power generation.

Nuclear power supplies steady baseload electricity at scale, providing 60 to 80 percent of France's intra-day generation from a 63-gigawatt installed base; this briefing tracks global capacity trends, construction pipelines, cancellations, and relicensing.

US electricity production grew 2.4% annually from 1981 to 2002 before plateauing at 0.5% from 2003 to 2023; this briefing examines demand growth now driven by AI data centers and manufacturing, and the dispatchable generation and price pressures it creates.