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AI data centers are breaking an electric grid built for a different era

An electric grid that utilities optimized for stability is colliding with an industry that needs gigawatts delivered fast

A power substation near a CloudHQ data center in Virginia. (Lexi Critchett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a bill calling for a federal moratorium on new AI data center construction. The proposal would halt all AI infrastructure buildout until laws are enacted to curb environmental impacts, prevent job displacement, and ensure the facilities don't push up utility costs.

It was a sign of a system breaking under pressure it wasn't built for. More data center projects were delayed or blocked in a single quarter last year than in the previous two years combined, according to Data Center Watch. Interconnection queues that were already years long have gotten worse. Gas turbines needed to power facilities are backordered through 2028.

The problem isn't just aging infrastructure. For 20 years, consumption barely grew. Efficiency gains offset population and economic expansion.........

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