Surging electricity demand from data centers is putting pressure on the U.S. power grid, prompting warnings from reliability officials and rapid upward revisions to utility forecasts. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation has flagged an elevated risk of summer electricity shortfalls in 2026 across all three major grid regions, citing demand growth that is outpacing the addition of new generation.
The scale of the increase is steep. Five-year forecasts of future summer peak demand published by utilities jumped from 38 gigawatts in 2023 to 128 gigawatts in 2024, much of it attributed to data centers. Analysts at S&P Global projected data center grid-power demand to rise 22 percent in 2025 and nearly triple by 2030, while BloombergNEF estimates U.S. data center power demand could reach 106 gigawatts by 2035. The Energy Information Administration has noted that faster-than-expected data center growth could push fossil generation higher as utilities scramble to add capacity.
Data center load is emerging as the dominant driver of long-term U.S. electricity growth. Facilities could consume up to 9 percent of national electricity generation annually by 2030, up from about 4 percent of total load in 2023. Utilities are responding with new generation projects, transmission upgrades, and power purchase agreements aimed at securing supply for the largest new customers on their systems.
Source: Utility Dive - https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-data-center-power-demand-could-reach-106-gw-by-2035-bloombergnef/806972/