July 2 (Reuters) - Power demand on PJM, the largest U.S. electric grid, fell short of setting an all-time record on Thursday, even as scorching heat, air conditioning use and data center consumption stretched the limits of a system already struggling to meet unprecedented growth.

PJM electricity demand surged to 163 gigawatts at about 6 p.m. Eastern time, missing the record of 165.6 GW set in 2006, according to grid operator data.

PJM, which serves 67 million people in the Mid-Atlantic, U.S. South and Washington, D.C. areas, forecast earlier in the day the record would be broken.