According to the U.S. Energy Security Administration (EIA), electricity sales will reach 4,195 billion kWh in 2025, up 2% from 2024 levels. And further growth is expected in 2026-2027. The reason is the rapid construction of data centers to train and maintain AI models.
Energy giants including American Electric Power and Exelon have announced multi-billion dollar investments in grid modernization.
Commerce advisor Peter Navarro has already called on tech corporations to “shoulder the cost” of infrastructure expansion so that rate hikes don’t fall on households.
Why this is a game changer
AI infrastructure requires tens of gigawatts of power, which is comparable to the energy consumption of small states. Under these conditions, the state has to intervene and take into account new challenges.
They are related not only directly to the issues of energy supply, but also to social policy. After all, the growing demand for electricity from AI data centers affects the growth of prices, which is also felt by household consumers.
The rules of the game are changing for businesses as well. Enterprises must take into account many new factors in their development strategies:
– Increased operating costs due to rising energy prices;
– the need to enter into long-term energy supply contracts;
– increasing the pressure of environmental and social factors in its operations.
This means that AI is becoming not only a technological driver, but also a factor in energy policy. And the speed of development of the entire digital economy depends on how fast the US (and other countries) modernize infrastructure.
