North American power grid

Interconnections across national borders

The Eastern and Western interconnections connect systems on both sides of the US–Canada border. Texas and Quebec operate separate interconnections, with specific facilities connecting them to neighboring systems. A physical interconnection can contain several market operators and many balancing authorities. Explore the US power grid map, Eastern Interconnection or Western Interconnection to follow those boundaries.

Sources: DOE’s interconnection guide and EIA’s grid-monitor methodology.

US electricity demand, now and over time

The US Lower 48 demand chart uses hourly EIA-930 readings, while the regional charts show how demand changes across the country. Demand is power being used at a point in time, measured in MW or GW. The monthly history separates average demand from the peak hour and includes complete months only.

Electricity generation by source

Compare natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar and hydro output in the generation mix. The current market mix combines reporting operators; its coverage count shows which markets contribute. The settled US Lower 48 mix comes from EIA-930 on a separate reporting clock. Monthly fuel shares show how the supply mix changes over time, with storage excluded because it moves energy rather than generates it.

Wholesale electricity prices and market coverage

Each market shows its operator’s reference price per MWh, with the currency and price basis preserved. These are wholesale market readings, distinct from a household electricity tariff. The US-dollar chart keeps Canadian-dollar and Mexican-peso prices out; the market board shows each in its original currency. Open a market to investigate its demand, prices and generation in detail.

Sources, timestamps and interconnections

The US demand account covers EIA-930 balancing authorities across all thirteen Lower 48 regions, including utilities outside organized markets. Eastern and Western figures describe their U.S. portions, with Canadian and Mexican readings shown separately in the market board. Demand comparisons use one UTC hour ending and reconcile authority subtotals against regional and national publications. Missing authorities, delayed publications and inconsistent totals remain visible; an East/West ratio appears only for a complete, reconciled hour within three hours. Operator market readings and generation mixes retain their own source clocks.

Explore power market coverage or use What grid am I on? to find the grid serving a location.