Senate hearing: witnesses warn U.S. grid may be unready for surge in electricity demand from AI and data centers

Chairman Lee opened the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing by telling witnesses and colleagues that the hearing would focus on rising electricity demand and the nation’s preparedness to meet it.

The hearing featured testimony from Peter Huntsman, chairman and CEO of Huntsman Corporation; Jeff Tench, executive vice president of Vantage Data Centers; and Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies. All three said electricity demand is growing rapidly and that the power system needs faster, coordinated action on transmission, interconnection and siting if the United States is to avoid reliability problems and rising costs.

The central concern raised by witnesses was that several structural trends — the rapid buildout of AI data centers, a rebound in domestic manufacturing and accelerating electrification of vehicles and buildings — are outpacing the growth assumptions that guided planning for generation and transmission. Chairman Lee said, “America’s electricity demand is surging. It’s not creeping up. It’s surging.”

Why it matters: witnesses and several senators warned that if the grid and permitting systems do not adapt, consumers could see higher bills and regions could face outages at times of peak demand. Rob Gramlich said transmission is “the great integrator of all…