Our Summer 2021 Electricity Industry Outlook, a supplement of the Short-Term Energy Outlook, projects 1.5% more U.S. retail sales of electricity this summer than last summer. Much of the growth we expect will occur in the commercial and industrial sectors, reflecting an improving economy following the pandemic-related downturn in 2020. We forecast U.S. residential sector retail sales of electricity during the summer of 2021 to be 0.9% lower than last summer, mostly reflecting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast of milder weather. This decrease, however, is offset somewhat by growth in the number of residential customers and by more people working from home than in past years.
