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U.S. power grids face rising risks of winter energy shortages as data center growth outpaces capacity, warns a watchdog report, jeopardizing millions nationwide.
ATLANTA — The vast majority of Americans may soon struggle to keep the lights on during the winter as the growing number of energy-intensive data centers continue to strain the nation’s power grids, a new report from an energy watchdog warns.
The recent winter storm that stretched more than 2,000 miles across the U.S. caused historic energy strains for more than 100 million people in numerous states, but a report released Thursday by the National American Electric Reliability Corp suggests this high level of demand could be the new normal for the majority of the nation because of data centers.
The international regulatory authority, in its annual report, determined that electricity grids throughout the U.S. aren’t growing fast enough to outpace the massive spread of new data center developments nationwide.
The rapid increase in the number of data centers and other large electricity loads have put 10 of the nation’s 16 electricity grids at either elevated or high risk of energy shortfalls, brownouts, and potential blackouts in the next three years, especially during the winter months, according to the report. An uncontrolled loss in one area power grid could also spread to other regions, causing “cascading blackouts” over a wide portion of the grid.
“The continuing shift in the resource mix toward weather-dependent resources and less fuel diversity increases risks of supply shortfalls during winter months,” the corporation’s report said. “As Resource Planners, market operators, and regulators grapple with steep increases in demand and swelling resource queues, they face more uncertainty, adding to the already-complex endeavor of planning for resource adequacy during this period of rapid grid transformation.”
The first grid operator to face high risks of energy shortfalls is the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, which serves 45 million people in 15 states. The corporation said MISO’s projected energy supply additions do not keep pace with escalating energy demand forecasts, putting the operator in the red in 2028.
MISO is quickly followed by PJM Interconnected, which goes into high risk starting in 2029. PJM is the nation’s largest grid operator, serving 67 million customers in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
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