Electric Reliability Council of Texas estimates that the Permian Basin will experience 26,000 megawatts of new electricity demand by 2038. Half of that increase will be generated by the oil and gas industry, according to Lori Cobos, commissioner of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, who was in Midland recently to speak to members of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. The increased demand from the oil and gas industry in Permian Basin will come as operators electrify their operations. Other new demand will come from artificial intelligence data centers, cryptocurrency, hydrogen production, and a growing population.
ERCOT said peak demand in the state last summer exceeded 86,000 megawatts and is expected to reach 150,000 megawatts by 2030.
Cobos said the electricity needs of the Permian Basin have been a focus of the Texas legislature since 2023. She added, “The Permian Basin is critically important to the state and to the region. It is the backbone of the state’s economy.”
A Permian Electric Reliability Plan is being finalized, Cobos said, and PUC is expecting a report soon from ERCOT on transmission lines; transmission companies are planning projects costing billions of dollars. “It will be the largest investment in transmission buildout in state history,” Cobos said. “We are looking at building the energy grid of the future.”