Odaily, citing CCTV Finance, reported that the AI boom is sharply increasing electricity demand from data centers across the United States. As large computing facilities continue to expand, power prices have kept rising in multiple regions, and some areas have issued warnings about possible power outages. The gap between the pace of data center construction and the pace at which electricity supply can be made available has become a direct issue for both technology companies and grid operators.
FERC asks grid operators to consider new connection agreements
To ease the strain on power supply, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said on the 18th that regional grid operators should consider new agreements designed to speed up grid connections for large electricity consumers, including data centers. The request focuses on the slow pace at which major power-consuming projects are being connected to the grid, a problem that becomes more pressing as the number of data center projects continues to grow.
The commission also stated that, when making rules in the future, it will no longer proactively consider environmental impacts under the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act. That statement came alongside its push to accelerate access to the grid for large electricity users, placing grid connection procedures and power-supply pressure within the same regulatory discussion.
Data center growth is outpacing new power plant capacity
According to data from Data Center Map, the United States currently has more than 4,000 data centers in operation, with many more still in the planning or construction stage. The report said the speed of data center development is far ahead of the pace at which new power plants are coming online. At the same time, grid connection progress remains too slow, prompting major technology companies across the country to seek power allocations for their own data center projects.
Statistics from the Electric Power Research Institute show that data centers currently account for about 5% of total U.S. electricity demand. By 2035, that share may rise to around 20%. Against the backdrop of rising AI computing demand, the growing electricity share of data centers has become one of the central figures in discussions over U.S. power-system planning and the grid connection arrangements for large facilities.