The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued a stark warning on Tuesday: surging winter electricity demand, driven significantly by the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers, has placed “much of North America” at risk of failing to meet power needs during “extreme operating conditions.”
In its 2025-2026 reliability report, NERC highlighted that rising demand, coupled with the strain of energy-hungry AI facilities, creates heightened outage risks during intense winter weather.
“Winter electricity demand is rising at the fastest rate in recent years, particularly in areas where data center development is occurring,” NERC stated. While resources are adequate for normal winter peak demand, NERC cautioned that any “prolonged, wide-area cold snaps will be challenging.”
The total electricity demand has grown by 20 GW since last winter, which is “significantly outpacing winter on-peak capacity.”
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
The current forecast resembles conditions seen during the devastating Winter Storm Uri in 2021, which crippled the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) grids.
John Moura, NERC’s Reliability Assessments and Performance Analysis director, noted that electricity demand continues to grow faster than the resources added to the grid, especially during extreme conditions.
“Electricity demand continues to grow faster than the resources being added to the grid, especially during the most extreme winter conditions where actual demand can topple forecasts by as much as 25% — as we saw in 2021 in ERCOT and SPP,” Moura said.
Data centers are uniquely challenging the grid due to their round-the-clock operating pattern, which is “altering the daily load shape” and “lengthening peak demand periods,” according to NERC.
Furthermore, the grid must prepare for the inherent intermittency of renewable sources like solar and wind, particularly during severe cold snaps. NERC pointed out that winter peak demands typically occur before sunrise and after sunset, coinciding with the unavailability of solar generation. This leaves the system dependent on wind and dispatchable resources, which may also face reduced output in extreme cold.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright responded to the report on Wednesday, asserting that the country continues to face an “energy emergency” due to “the last administration’s dangerous energy subtraction policies.” Wright promised that the Trump administration will reverse these policies to lower energy costs and minimize blackout risks, advocating for “affordable, reliable and secure energy” regardless of weather conditions.
In a concrete move to bolster grid reliability this winter, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced an emergency order to keep Michigan’s J.H. Campbell coal plant operational until February 2026. The plant sits on the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) grid, which suffered a major outage over Memorial Day weekend.
The surge in data centers, along with general electrification and semiconductor manufacturing, is placing significant strain on regional grids, raising alarms among energy policy experts and grid watchdogs about the power system’s readiness.
READ: Google And NextEra Partner To Resurrect Iowa Nuclear Plant For AI Data Centers
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
