US energy groups spend record sums on power plants to feed data centers

Energy companies in the United States flow records in building power generation plants and transportation lines to meet the demand for electricity from databases, raising fears that costs may be transferred to consumers.

According to Jefferies Investment Bank, accompanying capital expenditures are expected to reach 212.1 billion dollars in 2025, 22.3 percent year -on -year and an increase of 129 percent compared to a decade. The investment is expected to reach a record level in 2027, at a value of $ 228.1 billion.

“Companies are investing in generating and transmission of the infection to the economy’s novel,” said Julian Domulin Smith, Energy Facilities and Clean Energy Analyst in Jeffrez.

“Over the past two decades, we have seen a relative scarcity of the new investment … We are now seeing a very significant shift, and we should see a sharp rise with the acceleration of the publishing center.”

While the growth of data centers can nourish an economic boom, companies, organizers and governments throughout the country wakes up to the huge capital needed to build infrastructure that supports artificial intelligence – while balancing pressure to prevent consumer bills from height.

If the data centers are transferred to the costs and small companies, you may face opposition to their expansion plans – while Facilities companies You may be more selective with their investments.

“The longest danger to this sector that I am concerned about is the ability to withstand costs. Since the epidemic, we have been following about 10 percent of the annual basis (in consumer energy bills),” said Barclays analyst, Nicholas Campanilla, Barclays analyst, Barclays analyst, Parkliz, Nicholas Campanilla. “There will be a point where stakeholders like politicians and consumer advocates and organizers want to intervene and deal with that.”

The electricity demand in the United States is expected to grow by 25 percent by 2030 and 78 percent by 2050 of 2023 levels, according to an ICF report, a consultant group. Residential prices are expected to increase by 15 percent and 40 percent, according to a sample of four facilities service.

It is a solution to provide energy for data centers, while taxpayers are intended for “excessive” developers such as Amazon, Microsoft and Meta to help finance facilities investments through paying directly or through a special customs tariff.

“Whether we have to build them as a sub -station or build an extension of a transport line, we will impose our data centers directly on that,” said Bob Frenzel, CEO of Xcel Energy.

“Our guideline principle is that customers cannot be affected by establishing new data centers. We have items in our agreements that protect us, such as the minimum terms, and they are committed to a certain amount (from energy) every month,” said Gustavo Garvaglia, AES UTILITIES’s financial manager.

In March, the Dominion Energy-which serves Virginia, in home to the highest concentration of databases in the United States-suggested creating a price structure for energy users that demands 25 megawatts or more and provides a 14-year contract for new customers.

Determining the amount of construction and those who pay the investments may be difficult. Since excessive numbers wear multiple facilities simultaneously, the demand expectations are likely to be amplified.

“If they reach four or five facilities, they must all assume that they will get the project and then put it in their plan,” said Tod Sinkler, head of the Electric Energy Supply Association.

Some data centers are scheduled to be built next to the current sources of the generation, which reduces the amount of transmission promotions required.

But the problem is that this can lead to the need for a new infrastructure elsewhere on the network, which is difficult to calculate.

“It is not always easy to know who is responsible for what.”

“I think in theory, most people may agree that if you make an upgrade, you should pay for it. But if you have caused an upgrade to happen one or the two countries, it is a more complicated conversation.”

However, some industry experts say that low prices in recent years have been responsible for generating power generation in the risk of closing.

“We got the energy luxury at unusually reasonable prices for a long time – two years ago, we were at risk of closing the valuable nuclear assets because the prices were very low to support its operations,” said Dan Egrez, Constellenge Energy.

“These new customers use electricity throughout the year. If we can do things to increase the use of the energy network, this is a benefit, right?”