Rising data center electricity demand is straining the U.S. power grid as the country heads into summer 2026. More than 4,500 active U.S. data centers consume 176 terawatt-hours annually, about 4.4% of all electricity, with over 700 more under construction across 38 states.
Utility forecasts for future load have climbed sharply. The consulting firm Grid Strategies found that five-year summer peak demand growth forecasts published by utilities jumped from 38 gigawatts in 2023 to 128 gigawatts in 2024. Longer-range projections vary widely, with some utility estimates of 90 gigawatts of added data center load by 2030 viewed as likely overstated, and market analysis pointing closer to 65 gigawatts. BloombergNEF projects U.S. data center power demand could reach 106 gigawatts by 2035.
Grid reliability concerns are mounting. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation warned of elevated risk of summer electricity shortfalls in 2026 across the PJM, MISO, and ERCOT regions. Aging transmission infrastructure compounds the challenge as utilities and generators race to meet forecasted load and regulators work through a backlog of interconnection requests.
Regional concentration intensifies the pressure. In Virginia, data centers already consume more than one in four kilowatt-hours of the state's electricity, an estimated 32 terawatt-hours out of 128 terawatt-hours in 2023. Data centers drove roughly half of U.S. electricity demand growth in the past year.
The buildout, driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing, is forcing utilities to plan new generation and transmission at a pace the grid has not seen in decades.
Source: Utility Dive - https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-data-center-power-demand-could-reach-106-gw-by-2035-bloombergnef/806972/