America’s expanding artificial intelligence sector is colliding with an electrical grid built decades ago, raising concerns about reliability and capacity as power demand accelerates.

From Northern Virginia’s data center corridor to Texas and the Southeast, analysts and government agencies say electricity systems are struggling to keep pace with the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure.

The surge is being driven by the construction of data centers nationwide. U.S. electricity consumption reached a record high in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration, which expects demand to rise further in 2025 and 2026.

Data centers currently account for about 4 percent of U.S. electricity use and roughly 1.5 percent globally. While still a minority share, the speed of growth has raised questions about whether existing infrastructure can keep up.

The Department of Energy says much of the nation’s power grid dates to the 1960s and 1970s. As of 2023, about 70 percent of transmission lines were more than 25 years old and nearing the end of their service life.

The agency has warned that aging infrastructure increases the risk of outages, cyber vulnerabilities, and emergency failures, even before accounting for new demand from AI and electrification.

Federal and private investment is underway. The Energy Department’s Grid Deployment Office has awarded $14.5 billion in grants, while private sector spending on grid upgrades has reached nearly $37 billion in recent years, according to Bank of America research.

Despite modernization efforts, researchers at S&P Global expect grid requirements to rise 22 percent by the end of 2026 and nearly triple by 2030 due to data center growth.

Industry leaders say power availability, not chip supply, may become the limiting factor for AI expansion. New generation capacity, including nuclear power, requires long construction timelines.

Energy analysts note that stress from AI is often regional rather than national. Concentrated data center clusters can overwhelm local transmission systems even when overall supply exists.

Regional grid operators, including PJM Interconnection, have warned that capacity shortfalls could emerge as early as mid-2026 if demand continues to grow rapidly.

Technology companies are investing in renewable energy purchases, efficiency improvements, and advanced cooling systems to reduce strain. Experts say broader planning reforms and faster infrastructure upgrades are needed to prevent localized reliability risks.