Huge growth in AI usage could cause electricity blackouts in US from next year

Electricity regulators are concerned that the huge growth in AI usage could lead to power blackouts in the US and Canada as early as next year. The prediction was published shortly after the public release of iOS 18.2 brought many more Apple Intelligence features online.

Artificial intelligence services like ChatGPT and Apple’s own Private Cloud Compute servers will see data center power usage double in the course of just four years, and power grids will likely struggle to keep up with this demand …

The concerns were expressed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a non-profit regulator for the power-generation sector, reports the Financial Times.

North America’s electricity grid faces “critical reliability challenges” as power generation fails to keep pace with surging demand from artificial intelligence, the industry watchdog has warned […]

The shortfall could cause blackouts during peak demand periods in both countries as soon as next year.

Demand for electricity is growing at an unprecedented rate, says the NERC in its Long Term Reliability Assessment report, with data centers powering AI services a key reason.

The report aligns with forecasts by the International Energy Agency that data centers alone will exceed 1,000 terawatt hours by 2026 – double the levels in 2022.

The challenge is made all the greater by the winding down of fossil fuel generation failing to be matched in pace by additional renewable energy power.

The US Midwest is likely to be hit first, says NERC, but almost every area of the US and Canada may experience serious power outages within the next decade.

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