News | Headlines
US peak demand set two new records in July
USA Power statistics
Electricity demand in the Lower 48 states exceeded all previous peaks on two days in the last week of July. Hot weather, which increases electricity demand for cooling, combined with an underlying trend of demand increases, pushed
coincident peak demand for the Lower 48 states to a high of 758 053 MW on 28 July between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm eastern time, according to the preliminary data in the EIA’s Hourly Electricity Grid Monitor. The next day, peak demand set another record, reaching
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759 180 MW, 1.9% more than the record of 745 020 MW set on 15 July 2024. EIA forecasts that US electricity demand met
Previous peak: 745 020 MW
758 053 MW 759 180 MW Demand Jul-20 Jul-22 Jul-24 Jul-26 Jul-28 Jul-30 Aug-01 Aug-03
Hourly electricity demand for the Lower 48 states from 20 July to 3 August 2025, 1000 MW. Source: US Energy Information Administration
by the electric power sector will grow at an annual rate of just over 2% in 2025 and 2026, according to its Short-Term Energy Outlook. Until 2020 electricity demand was relatively flat. Forecast electricity demand growth is higher in areas with plans for large data centres and manufacturing facilities, such as in Texas and in Northern Virginia. Coincident peak demand represents a simultaneous snapshot across the entire Lower 48 states: system peaks in individual regions or utility areas may have occurred at different hours or even on different days.
UK approves final investment decision for Sizewell C nuclear plant UK Nuclear power
The UK Energy Secretary has signed the final investment decision for Sizewell C, an important moment in Britain’s pursuit of clean energy independence. With an initial 44.9% stake, the government becomes the project’s single largest equity shareholder. 70% of construction contracts will be going to British businesses.
This decision will propel the UK towards its goal of securing home-grown nuclear supply well beyond 2030, correspondingly reducing its reliance on fossil fuels. Energy Secretary Ed
Miliband stated: “It is time to do big things and build big projects in this country again … [this] investment will provide clean, homegrown power to millions of homes for generations to come. This government is making the investment needed to deliver a new golden age of nuclear, so we can end delays and free us from the ravages of the global fossil fuel markets to bring bills down for good.” The plant is said to promise cheaper, clean electricity for at least 60 years, potentially saving the UK’s electricity system £2 bn annually.
The project investors include La Caisse with 20%, Centrica with 15%, Amber Infrastructure with 7.6% and EDF with 12.5% ownership. The National Wealth Fund makes its debut in nuclear financing by providing most of the debt finance, supported by a proposed £5 bn debt guarantee from Bpifrance Assurance Export, France’s export credit agency. International Public Partnerships (INPP) has committed £250m ($336m) of total equity to the regulated entity managing Sizewell C, securing a 3% equity stake and plans to invest £50m annually up to 2030.
Iberdrola completes $5.8bn capital raise for grid investments
Europe Transmission & distribution Iberdrola has completed a €5 bn ($5.8bn) capital raise, aimed at supporting its electricity grid investments across the US and UK. As reported by Reuters, 331 million new shares were issued through an accelerated book– building process, with the order book 3.8 times oversubscribed. The share offering was priced at €15.15 each, marking the largest accelerated bookbuild in Spain since Santander’s €7.5bn raise in 2015. Iberdrola describes the move as leverage for “unprecedented investment opportunities” within network businesses.
The new capital will support a €55 bn investment opportunity in grids between 2026 and 2031 – a 75% increase from the previous six-year investment period. The company seeks to focus on regions with stable and predictable regulatory environments and attractive returns. This capital injection forms part of a wider financing strategy that includes cash generation, accessing debt markets, rotating assets and forming partnerships — due to be elaborated during Iberdrola’s ‘capital markets day’ on 24 September this year. In Iberdrola’s financial update for the first half of 2025, it announced a net profit of
6 | July/August 2025 |
www.modernpowersystems.com
€3.56bn, reflecting a 20% increase on a like-for-like basis, with EBITDA increasing by 5% year-on-year, reaching €8.29bn. While EBITDA in Spain experienced a 12% decline, this was outweighed by growth in the US and Europe. Investments made during H1 2025 amounted to €5.66bn – a 7% increase – with more than 60% allocated towards projects in the US and UK. In its full-year projections for 2025, Iberdrola anticipates a double-digit rise in net profit. It expects ‘no impact on results from the new tariffs, which would have a cost impact on investment of less than 1%, thanks to supply chain management’.
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