East coast could soon get rolling blackouts during summer because data centers have pushed electric grid to the limit | The Independent

The East Coast of the United States may experience rolling blackouts due to the increasing demand for power from AI data centers, according to a report. PJM, which services nearly 70 million people, may be forced to trigger power outages during high demand periods. The AI boom has seen data centers cropping up across the U.S., heavily concentrated in Northern Virginia, leading to soaring energy bills. PJM has projected that power demand will increase by an average of 4.8 percent annually for the next 10 years, and ICF, a consulting firm, forecasts that demand in 2030 will surge 25 percent above 2023 levels, largely as a result of data centers.