Experts Expose: AI Data Centres May Be Increasing Global Power Use
How Artificial Intelligence Is Affecting Global Electricity Prices. About this, Lindsey Martin’s electric bill hit $314 in July, the highest her bill had been so far this year, she said in a TikTok. In the more than 4,000 comments on the video, numerous users reported the same power-bill spikes.
Martin’s bill leapt even higher in August to $372, a significant jump from about $150 two or three years ago.
Martin is not alone. Home electricity rates are increasing, based on reports from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The overall cost of electricity in America has gone up 13% since 2022. With retail electricity costs projected to increase more rapidly than inflation, the report indicates. Certain areas, such as the Pacific, Middle Atlantic and New England, may experience even higher increases than the national rate.
The hikes have primarily been fueled by the expenses of upgrading and sustaining the electricity grid and other supporting infrastructure, especially in response to more frequent extreme weather conditions, experts on energy and computing said already.
But a new wave of technology is also fueling electricity bills: The AI rush is fueling electricity consumption and power supplies as technology titans spend billions in what most people think is the largest computing change in decades. This week, OpenAI and Broadcom unveiled a joint venture to design and create 10 gigawatts of specialised AI chips and systems, enough to power a large city.
That trend is not likely to abate. Data centres are expected to use about 6.7% to 12% of US electricity in 2028, from 4.4% in 2023, a December 2024 report by the Department of Energy. An analysis by Bloomberg News indicated that regions close to data centres experienced an increase in electricity prices of up to 267% since five years.
The power sector simply isn’t able to keep pace, said Bob Johnson, a Gartner analyst covering the semiconductor sector.
‘Explosion in demand’ for AI
Data centre investment has proceeded rapidly as tech giants bet the future of their companies on AI. Meta reported it spent $17 billion in capital spending, which is typically money. That is utilised up on data centres and infrastructure, all through the quarter that ended in June, and Microsoft reported that it spent $24.2 billion. Data centre building spending totalled a record $40 billion in June, a Bank of America Institute report found.
Existing data centers liable have to to be updated to make certain they have a sufficient amount capacity to handle new power-hungry AI services and products.
That development is contributing to a much higher electricity requirement than the United States has seen in two decades. It is most vital to the need for more investment in electricity generation and transmission, said Rich Powell, CEO of the Clean Energy Buyers Association, a trade group that represents electricity buyers.
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