GET DAILY REPORT FREE
America’s AI-fueled data center boom is pushing the U.S. power grid toward a breaking point, forcing utilities and tech giants into a high-stakes standoff over who should shoulder the burden, The Wall Street Journal writes.
Grid operators warn that the surge in massive, always-on facilities is arriving far faster than new transmission lines and power plants can be built, raising the risk of higher electricity prices and rolling blackouts. In response, regional grid managers from the Midwest to Texas are proposing controversial rules that would require data centers to bring their own power, accept conditional service, or temporarily disconnect from the grid when supplies tighten.
Tech companies including Google, Amazon and Microsoft argue that such mandates are discriminatory and could jeopardize critical services that rely on uninterrupted computing power. Texas has already passed legislation allowing utilities to cut off data centers during extreme demand, while other regions remain deadlocked.
With hundreds of billions of dollars in investment riding on these projects, energy experts say power availability—not land or incentives—has become the critical bottleneck shaping where the next wave of digital infrastructure can grow.
