Data centers in the United States now consume about 176 terawatt hours of electricity annually, equal to 4.4 percent of national power use, according to World Resources Institute analysis. More than 4,500 active facilities are in operation, with over 700 additional sites under construction across 38 states.

The growth trajectory is steep and uneven across regions. Five year future summer peak demand growth forecasts published by utilities rose from 38 gigawatts in 2023 to 128 gigawatts in 2024, driven primarily by large customers including data centers concentrated in the ERCOT and PJM grid regions. The shift contrasts with the flat demand that characterized the prior decade.

National consumption is climbing alongside. Total U.S. electricity consumption is projected to rise from about 4,110 billion kilowatt hours in 2024 to more than 4,260 billion kilowatt hours in 2026, with data centers supporting artificial intelligence and high performance computing accounting for a significant share of the incremental demand.

Forecasting the load is difficult because announced projects do not always proceed, and developers sometimes file for power at multiple sites for a single project. That uncertainty complicates planning for utilities that must commit to long lead time generation and transmission investments. The figures highlight how quickly computing has become a major factor in U.S. electricity planning.

Source: World Resources Institute - https://www.wri.org/insights/us-data-centers-electricity-demand