Wood Mackenzie’s 2025 analysis looks at how large new loads—especially AI data centers and other hyperscale users—are reshaping US power demand, utility planning, and grid reliability. The authors compile utility commitments to new large-load customers and quantify how these commitments translate into higher long‑term electricity demand and pressure on generation and transmission build‑out.

The report finds that US utilities have already committed to more than 100 GW of new large‑load capacity through the mid‑2030s, with data centers driving most of that growth. These loads are expanding beyond traditional hubs into regions whose grids were not designed for continuous, high‑density digital demand, forcing utilities and regulators to revisit resource adequacy, interconnection queues, and the balance between firm generation, storage, and flexible load.

From Kelvolta’s perspective, this is one of the more sober, data‑driven treatments of US load growth, particularly around data centers. For large behind‑the‑meter (BTM) customers, it confirms that grid‑side solutions alone may not arrive fast enough in many areas, strengthening the case for on‑site assets—such as battery energy storage systems (BESS) and dispatchable generation—to secure firm capacity, manage interconnection risk, and keep long‑term energy costs under control.

Source: Read the full Wood Mackenzie report on how large‑load growth, led by data centers, is reshaping US power markets on woodmac.com.

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