Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is known for the income it generates for investors. The master limited partnership (MLP) currently pays a 6.7%-yielding cash distribution.

However, investors shouldn't discount its growth prospects. It delivered double-digit earnings and cash-flow growth last year, fueled by a combination of acquisitions, organic expansion projects, and strong market conditions. The MLP sees a lot more growth coming down the pipeline, driven partly by an expected surge in power demand over the coming years. It has already started to cash in on this opportunity, which should continue.

Co-CEO Tom Long discussed the powerful growth Energy Transfer sees ahead for U.S. electricity demand on the company's fourth-quarter conference call. He noted: "The broader consensus, combined with the number of inbounds we're receiving, suggests that natural gas fuel power demand will increase significantly in the future. We believe the growth needed to accommodate this demand will be significant, and we are in a unique position to capitalize on this opportunity set."

Energy market forecasters expect the U.S. to experience an unprecedented surge in power demand in the coming years. For example, a forecast by IHS sees U.S. power demand growing a staggering 55% over the next 20 years. That's about six times faster than it grew during the prior 20-year period (around 9%). Several factors are driving this resurgence, including the onshoring of manufacturing, the electrification of everything, and AI data centers.

Surging power consumption will drive demand for all types of power sources, including natural-gas-fired plants. Fellow co-CEO Marshal McCrea noted on the call that future gas demand could be substantial. He stated:

We're extremely well positioned to capture whatever the growth is, but we've certainly seen numbers north of 10 or 12 Bcf/d [billion cubic feet per day]. But we don't know where it's going to go. We just know it's going to be big, and we're going to play a big role in that growth.

To put that into context, total U.S. natural gas demand was around 110 Bcf/d last year.

"Given Energy Transfer's extensive natural gas infrastructure," stated Long on the call, "we continue to believe that we are the best positioned to capitalize on the anticipated rise in natural gas demand." The company operates over 105,000 miles of natural gas gathering, interstate, and intrastate pipelines that move more than 55 Bcf/d. It also has 236 Bcf of natural gas storage capacity.