(Bloomberg) -- US demand for electricity will surge almost 16% over the next five years, more than triple the estimate from a year ago, driven by new data centers and factories that are going to suck up power, according to a new report.
Utilities are expecting customers to need as much as 128 gigawatts of new capacity in 2029, according to the report released Thursday by Grid Strategies. That figure is based on revised estimates from regional grid operators submitted this year, and dwarfs the company’s 39-gigawatt forecast from a year ago.
After decades of flat US power demand, the need for electricity is skyrocketing thanks to data centers running artificial intelligence operations, new factories and the electrification of everything from cars to home heating. The unexpected boom, which some analysts liken to the World War II era, has scrambled energy markets, complicated climate goals and created profitable new opportunities for power providers.
Grid Strategies was one of the first researchers to point to surging US electricity demand, with a December 2023 forecast of five-year growth of 38 gigawatts. That conclusion surprised the industry, and since then the trend has only accelerated as big technology companies seek reliable power for their data centers, according to Rob Gramlich, the company’s president.
“These data centers really want to run full-out,” Gramlich said during a conference call to discuss the findings. “We’re going to need new power.”
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