We forecast U.S. marketed natural gas production will average 122.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2026, surpassing the previous record of 118.5 Bcf/d set in 2025, in our August 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO).
In 2025, customers in Puerto Rico experienced an average of 36 hours of power interruptions that were not caused by major events such as hurricanes, 19% more than in 2024. On average, between 2021 and 2025, Puerto Rican customers experience 29 hours of power loss each year. By comparison, electricity customers in the mainland United States generally experience about two hours of electricity interruptions per year without major events.
Utility-scale battery storage capacity in the United States increased significantly during the last three years, with an annual average growth rate of 70%. By the end of 2025, the U.S. power system had operational battery storage capacity of 43.6 gigawatts (GW). During the first six months of 2026, operators added another 8.3 GW of battery storage capacity, reaching nearly 52 GW of nameplate battery storage capacity, based on our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.
Although the total value of energy trade between the United States and Canada fell by 11% in 2025 to an estimated $137 billion, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the trade value of natural gas and electricity between the two countries increased slightly primarily because of increased natural gas prices and trade volume.
Hourly peak load in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the regional transmission organization serving most of Texas, reached a record 91.1 gigawatts (GW) on July 22, 2026, according to data reported to us for our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor.
Oil rose as the US threatened new economic pressure on Iran while uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz persisted.
Crude retreated as traders assessed Hormuz shipments and rising US inventories.
A container ship paid $4 million to cut the line at the Panama Canal.
The global refining system has little spare room left to respond, Daniel Evans, Global Head of Fuels and Refining Research at S&P Global Energy, said in analysis piece.
Crude prices were little changed as stalled Hormuz negotiations offset a massive increase in US oil inventories.