US Electric Grid Heading Toward ‘Crisis’ Thanks to AI Data Centers

Brad Reed | Common Dreams

The massive energy needs of artificial intelligence data centers became a major political controversy in 2025, and new reporting suggests that it will grow even further in 2026.

CNBC reported on Thursday that data center projects have become political lightning rods among politicians ranging from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the left to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on the right.

However, objections to data centers aren’t just coming from politicians but from ordinary citizens who are worried about the impact such projects will have on their local environment and their utility bills.

CNBC noted that data centers’ energy needs are so great that PJM Interconnection, the largest US grid operator that serves over 65 million people across 13 states, projects that it will be a full six gigawatts short of its reliability requirements in 2027.

Joe Bowring, president of independent market monitor Monitoring Analytics, told CNBC that he’s never seen the grid under such projected strain.

“It’s at a crisis stage right now,” Bowring said. “PJM has never been this short.”

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30% of San Francisco hit with power outage that left 130,000 in the dark

Comment: A taste of things to come...Welcome to SMART city, WI-FI ready!

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Nicholas McEntyre | New York Post

Self-driving cars stalled in middle of streets

San Francisco plunged into darkness when nearly 30 percent of the city was struck by a power outage, which brought vital transportation, such as self-driving cars, to a grinding halt on Saturday night.

Over 130,000 houses and businesses were left in the dark, largely in the northwest part of San Francisco, including the Richmond, Sunset, Presidio, and Golden Gate Park sections, officials said on Saturday.

As of early Sunday morning, more than 29,000 people were still without power, according to PowerOutageUS.

The "citywide" outages forced Waymo to halt its driverless car service, stranding the autonomous vehicles in the middle of the streets, SF Gate reported.

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Venezuela defeats new power sabotage in hours

Off Guardian

Gloria La Riva 

The author is currently on the ground in Venezuela

 

This morning at 1:30 a.m., engineers and electrical workers restored Venezuela’s power after a massive cyber sabotage at 4:45 p.m. yesterday shut down 17 of 23 states in a blackout.

This is the third major attempt by the United States and internal counterrevolutionaries to try to destroy the power system, the first being March 7-12 and the second from March 23 to April 4. There have been hundreds of terrorist attacks on the power lines.

This quick recovery by the energy sector — engineers, technicians and soldiers deployed to help in the efforts — is testament to the revolutionary people’s capacity to resist and a higher organizational level with each new challenge.

Each attack has been met with determined resistance and the Maduro government’s counter measures to minimize damage.

Engineer Rafael Argotti, whom Liberation News interviewed during the first blackout on March 9, explained today what is behind the power sabotage.

  “This blackout was simply another electromagnetic attack. From January to July of this year, we have detected more than 76 incursions of U.S. planes specialized in electromagnetic work. The sabotage took place while the Bolivarian revolution is advancing in the international arena. This weekend we held the gathering of 120 countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, which affirmed its recognition of Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela.”

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Civilians ‘Not Ready’ for EMP-caused Blackout — But Military IS

Watchdog.org 

The catastrophic effects of an electromagnetic pulse-caused blackout could be preventable, but experts warn the civilian world is still not ready.

Peter Vincent Pry, executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and director of the U.S. Nuclear Strategy Forum, both congressional advisory boards, said the technology to avoid disaster from electromagnetic pulses exists, and upgrading the nation’s electrical grid is financially viable.


“The problem is not the technology,” Pry said. “We know how to protect against it. It’s not the money, it doesn’t cost that much. The problem is the politics. It always seems to be the politics that gets in the way.”
He said the more officials plan, the lower the estimated cost gets.

“If you do a smart plan — the Congressional EMP Commission estimated that you could protect the whole country for about $2 billion,” Pry told Watchdog.org. “That’s what we give away in foreign aid to Pakistan every year.” 

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