A new report reviewed by Utility Dive projects that U.S. data center electricity consumption could more than double by 2030, driven primarily by AI workload expansion. The finding adds quantitative weight to growing concerns from grid operators, regulators, and ratepayer advocates about the pace of load growth. Utility planners are already revising long-range forecasts to account for concentrated demand from hyperscale campuses.
A doubling of data center electricity demand within four years would stress generation capacity, transmission infrastructure, and utility capital budgets simultaneously, forcing accelerated investment decisions that will affect electricity prices for all consumers. This projection gives regulators and utilities a concrete planning benchmark.
Specific forward-looking demand projection with a named publication and a defined 2030 horizon triggered selection. This story is distinct from the previously published '4x by 2035' forecast and the general BofA warning, as it presents a nearer-term, separate quantitative threshold.