AI Data Centers and the Energy Grid: The New Power Equation

The New Power Consumer

According to the International Energy Agency, electricity use from data centers is expected to more than double by 2030, with AI-optimized facilities quadrupling their consumption. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects record U.S. electricity demand by 2026, driven largely by AI infrastructure growth. BloombergNEF forecasts an even steeper climb—with total data-center demand jumping from 35 GW to nearly 80 GW by 2035.

To put that in perspective, that’s like adding the energy consumption of dozens of new cities, just to power the servers training the next generation of AI models.

This isn’t a blip. It’s a structural transformation.

AI data centers aren’t just power users; they’re grid-shaping entities that influence how utilities plan, balance, and modernize their networks.

Why Utilities Must Think Differently

For decades, utilities modeled industrial demand as predictable and cyclical, but AI doesn’t play by those rules.

Compute workloads fluctuate in real time, and cooling systems respond dynamically to that demand. These facilities often cluster near high-capacity substations or renewable corridors, concentrating stress on infrastructure never designed for such rapid, volatile loads.

If utilities can’t forecast these dynamics with precision, grid reliability and planning margins will erode. But if they can—if they model AI-driven growth as intelligently as they model generation and DERs—this revolution becomes an unprecedented opportunity.

That’s where the next generation of energy software enters the story.

EPE’s ENER-i®: The AI-Ready Grid Planning Platform

At EPE, we anticipated this convergence years ago.

Our ENER-i® platform was designed from the ground up to integrate distributed energy resources (DERs) and advanced, intelligent analytics, making it uniquely ready for the compute-powered grid of tomorrow.

ENER-i® treats data-center demand as a living input to the grid. It models how a megawatt of compute translates into transmission and distribution stress, renewable absorption, and long-term infrastructure needs.

That’s why it’s often called the most AI-ready grid-planning software on the market today, bridging digital growth with electrical reality, and giving planners a scalable, data-driven foundation for the era of intelligent infrastructure.

InSights: The #1 Intelligent Project Siting Solution on the Market Today

Complementing ENER-i® is InSights, EPE’s siting intelligence and grid analytics platform,  one of the most complete, data-rich, and regionally comprehensive tools available today.

InSights enables developers, planners, and utilities to:

• Visualize grid congestion and interconnection opportunities
• Assess locational value, curtailment risk, and capacity headroom
• Forecast project competitiveness across all RTOs/ISOs, WECC, and beyond

Together, ENER-i® and InSights form a truly end-to-end, AI-ready ecosystem—offering the most intelligent, data-driven, and scalable grid planning and market analysis tools available today. Built for both current challenges and future growth, they empower utilities and developers to plan, operate, and invest with clarity and confidence.

When paired, they deliver something rare in today’s industry: total situational awareness, from the substation to the ISO, bridging technical precision with commercial insight.

The Strategic Opportunity Ahead

This moment demands that we redefine what “load” means. Tomorrow’s utilities will serve not only homes, factories, and EVs, but intelligence itself.

Software like ENER-i® and InSights enables utilities and developers to:

• Anticipate compute-driven load growth before it destabilizes capacity
• Optimize grid upgrades and site selection based on real-time congestion and forecasted market impact
• Simulate and plan scenarios that align renewable integration with AI’s growing energy intensity

The result? Turning what could be an operational liability into a strategic asset, transforming energy strain into energy strategy.

A New Kind of Energy Transition

When I talk about AI and the grid, I’m not describing two parallel revolutions—I’m describing a single transformation in which intelligence and infrastructure evolve together.

The question isn’t whether AI will reshape the grid; it’s whether the grid will evolve fast enough to power AI.

At EPE, our answer is clear: yes—with the right tools, data, and vision.

The systems that power AI must themselves become intelligent, and that’s the future we’re already building: one where software, data, and human ingenuity at EPE energize the next era of our industry.

The intersection of AI and energy isn’t just a technical evolution—it’s a leadership moment for all of us.