For decades, U.S. electricity demand was relatively flat. The power system was built around that reality. Utilities, infrastructure planners and policymakers had little reason to expect a sharp rise in national electricity use.
AI data centers are adding large loads, but they are only part of the change. More factories are returning to the United States. Transport, buildings and industrial processes are becoming more dependent on electricity. Robotics and physical AI could add another source of demand as they move into factories and other workplaces.
