Proposed data centers and other very large electricity users have requested more than 700 gigawatts of grid capacity across parts of the US Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and South, a Reuters review published Tuesday found. The total, dominated by facilities designed for artificial intelligence and cloud computing, is more than ten times estimates of current US data-center power use and is forcing regulators to distinguish credible construction plans from duplicate or speculative applications.
Texas has become the first major US data-center hub to freeze new grid connections while officials audit projects seeking power. Requests to connect large loads to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas system climbed from about 48 gigawatts in 2023 to more than 474 gigawatts, according to ERCOT and state documents cited by Reuters. ERCOT separately said in June that it was tracking more than 438 gigawatts of large-load requests and that nearly 89 percent came from data centers.
The surge does not mean all that electricity will be consumed. Developers can approach several utilities for the same project, while some applications lack financing, land control, a final customer or the expertise needed to build a server complex. Reporting practices also differ: some utilities count only signed contracts, but others include preliminary inquiries. This uncertainty can distort forecasts used to approve power plants, transmission lines and other costly infrastructure.
Financial tests are already shrinking some queues. Exelon cut its estimate of high-probability data-center demand by about 40 percent to 11 gigawatts after introducing stricter collateral requirements, Reuters reported. In Ohio, AEP Ohio's pipeline fell by more than half after rules introduced connection-study fees of up to 100,000 dollars. Such screening aims to ensure that serious projects advance without making households finance equipment for facilities that never open.
The stakes remain high even after doubtful proposals are removed. Monitoring Analytics calculated that existing and forecast data-center growth contributed to a 29.4-billion-dollar increase in capacity costs over roughly four auctions in the 13-state PJM market. Grid planners face opposite risks: building too little could undermine reliability as genuine AI demand arrives, while building too much could leave consumers paying for stranded generation and transmission assets.
Texas now requires a broader audit covering the ultimate owners of proposed centers, public incentives, water consumption and plans for on-site generation. Pennsylvania has also tightened disclosure and permitting for projects of at least 25 megawatts; a state official told Reuters that only 20 of more than 100 proposed centers had applied for permits. Regulators across the country are expected to keep adding deposits, documentation and milestone checks as they decide which part of the AI power boom is real.
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