“We’re seeing across the country an unprecedented amount of new electric demand, largely — but not entirely — from tech industry data centers driven by artificial intelligence.”
Rotating blackouts are a real possibility in extreme circumstances as the Northwest faces a near-term electricity shortfall, according to energy consultant Arne Olson. “The need is now. It’s not 10 years from now,” he said, as demand surges and supply lags.
Growth from AI-driven data centers and electrification is driving demand, while new generation faces delays. In extreme conditions, utilities could resort to rotating outages, going “block by block … turned off for an hour or two.”
Olson said natural gas backup remains critical to reliability, even as renewables expand. Costs are also rising, with projections that “power rates would increase by 50% over a 20-year period.”