Rising electricity demand from data centers is pushing utilities and grid technology companies to modernize power infrastructure that has changed little in a century. Data center electricity consumption is projected to nearly triple by 2028, reaching about 12 percent of total U.S. electricity demand, while global data center capital spending is expected to surpass one trillion dollars annually by 2029.
Some companies are betting on new transmission technology to move that power more efficiently. Massachusetts based VEIR, founded in 2019, builds superconducting transmission lines it says can carry five to ten times more power through the same physical footprint as conventional lines. The company raised 75 million dollars in 2025 with backing from Microsoft. VEIR chief executive Tim Heidel said "the boom in AI is a once in a lifetime opportunity to drive innovation across the power grid."
Other firms are focused on flexibility rather than new wires. Voltus has introduced a model letting data center developers help finance community virtual power plants in exchange for capacity, while Boston University professor Ayse Coskun, chief scientist at Nvidia backed Emerald AI, has researched how data centers can adjust electricity use in real time to help balance the grid.
The demand surge has also drawn regulatory scrutiny. Seventeen states introduced data center moratorium bills in 2026, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the state's environmental regulator to pause new data center permits. Grid operators in other countries have taken similar steps, with Denmark's operator halting new grid connection requests nationwide in May after receiving requests totaling eight times the country's peak demand.
Source: Forbes -- https://www.forbes.com/sites/annademeo/2026/09/24/the-power-grid-hasnt-changed-in-a-century-data-centers-are-changing-that/