Energy

AI Power Demand Is Outpacing Grid Buildout

Utilities are struggling to connect large data centers quickly enough to maintain reliability, panelists said.

Georgina Mackie

May 13, 2026 — 2 min read

Photo of Fritz Herve and Tony Clark Tuesday at a United States Energy Association event.

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2026 – Artificial Intelligence and large-scale data centers are driving electricity demand faster than utilities can expand generation and transmission infrastructure, energy regulators said Tuesday.

Panelists speaking at a United States Energy Association event warned that gigawatt-scale data centers are increasingly requesting grid interconnections within one to three years, while transmission projects can take seven years or more to complete.

“The speed and the size of these loads” are creating major reliability challenges, said Fritz Herve, vice president of government affairs at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

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Energy USEA Fritz Herve Tony Clark National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners North American Electric Reliability Corporation

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