Electricity grid regulators warn AI data centers threaten reliability assessments

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. has released its annual assessment of the grid’s capacity to meet consumer needs, warning that a dramatic increase in data centers to support artificial intelligence, and the power needed to run those facilities, poses a major challenge to forecasting electricity demand and protecting against blackouts.

“The size and speed with which data centers (including crypto and AI) can be constructed and connect to the grid presents unique challenges for demand forecasting and planning for...