US Energy Department to spend $2 billion upgrading power grid for AI demand

The US Energy Department will spend nearly $2 billion to upgrade its aging and strained power grid, covering 31 projects across 26 states. The plan is expected to add more than 23GW of capacity, enough to power 16 million homes.

The projects will use sensors and other new tech to monitor weather in real time, rerouting power when lines are congested or overloaded. Officials say this should improve reliability and lower costs for about 100 million Americans.

The announcement comes as warnings grow that AI's huge power demand could overwhelm US electricity supply, with new data centers coming online faster than new power plants are built. Electricity bills in many areas have risen faster than inflation, with some regions blaming data centers.

The Energy Department says it will upgrade parts on over 2,400 km of transmission lines and make tech upgrades across nearly 34,000 km of lines.