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US Electric Grid Heading Toward 'Crisis' Thanks to AI Data Centers
"No good comes of having an AI data center near you."
Jan 02, 2026
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."
Rob Gramlich, president of power consulting firm Grid Strategies, told CNBC that he expects the debate over data centers to become even more intense this year once Americans start getting socked with even higher utility bills.
"I don't think we’ve seen the end of the political repercussions,” Gramlich said. “And with a lot more elections in 2026 than 2025, we’ll see a lot of implications. Every politician is going to be saying that they have the answer to affordability and their opponents’ policies would raise rates."
Concerns about data centers' impact on electric grids are rising in both red and blue states.
The Austin American-Statesman reported on Thursday that a new analysis written by the office of Austin City Manager TC Broadnax found that data centers have the potential to overwhelm the city's system given they are projected to need more power than can possibly be delivered with current infrastructure.
"The speed in which AI is trying to be deployed creates tremendous strain on the already tight resources in both design and construction," says the analysis, which noted that some proposed data centers are seeking more than five gigawatts, which is more than the peak load for the entire city.
In New York, local station News 10 reported last year that the New York Independent System Operator is estimating that the state's grid could be 1.6 gigawatts short of reliability requirements by 2030 thanks in large part to data centers.
Anger over proposed data centers has even spread to President Donald Trump's primary residential home of Palm Beach County, Florida, where local residents successfully postponed the construction of a proposed 200-acre data center complex.
According to public news station WLRN, locals opposed to the project cited "expected noise from cooling towers, servers, and diesel generators, along with heavy water use, pollution concerns, and higher utility costs" when petitioning Palm Beach County commissioners to scrap the proposal.
Corey Kanterman, a local opponent of the proposed data center, told WLRN that his goal is to shut the project down entirely.
"No good comes of having an AI data center near you," Kanterman said. "Put them in the location of least impact to the environment and people. This location is not it."
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'Relentless Fighter for Working People': Mamdani, Sanders Back Lander Bid for US House
"I’m running for Congress because we need leaders who will fight, not fold," said Brad Lander, who is aiming to unseat Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman.
Dec 10, 2025
Outgoing New York City Comptroller Brad Lander announced Wednesday that he is running to unseat Democratic US Rep. Dan Goldman, a primary bid launched with the support of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and the nation's most prominent progressive lawmaker, Sen. Bernie Sanders.
"I’m running for Congress because we need leaders who will fight, not fold," Lander wrote in a social media post announcing his run to represent New York's 10th Congressional District.
Lander's campaign launch comes after a closely watched mayoral race in which he and Mamdani endorsed each other during the primary process—a strategic alliance aimed at ensuring the defeat of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo under the city's ranked-choice voting system.
Goldman, who was elected to Congress in 2023, did not endorse Mamdani after he prevailed in the mayoral primary.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mamdani said that "Brad’s unwavering principles, deep knowledge, and sincere empathy are what make him a true leader."
"He has been a trusted ally and partner of mine," the mayor-elect added, "and I’m proud to support him as I know he’ll continue delivering for those who need government to show up for them the most."
"He and Zohran Mamdani proved that when ordinary people stand united, we can take on the billionaire class, and we can defeat corporate-dominated politics."
Sanders, a key early backer of Mamdani's bid to lead New York City, joined the mayor-elect in endorsing Lander, calling him a "relentless fighter for working people."
"He’s spent the past two decades taking on big corporations, winning better wages and fair working conditions for New Yorkers, including major victories for fast food workers, delivery workers, and tenants," the senator said. "During the recent mayoral election, he and Zohran Mamdani proved that when ordinary people stand united, we can take on the billionaire class, and we can defeat corporate-dominated politics."
"Brad Lander is a public servant who will bring a much-needed voice to Congress," Sanders continued. "He will deliver for the people of New York and all working-class Americans. I am proud to endorse him."
Lander also secured the day-one support of US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and the New York Working Families Party (NYWFP).
“We know that as congressman, Brad Lander will continue to lead the fights to protect immigrants, to stand up for workers, and to make New York a place where working families can afford to live and thrive," said Ana María Archila and Jasmine Gripper, co-directors of NYWFP. "And most of all, we know he will continue to build a movement strong enough to defeat Donald Trump and the forces of authoritarianism by practicing a kind of politics that makes a true, multi-racial democracy possible."
"These are uncharted times—and we know Brad Lander has what it takes to represent NYers in Washington," they added. "We are all in and ready to win!"
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Just After Settling With Trump DOJ, RealPage Sues New York Over Ban on Algorithmic Rent-Setting
"As if we need any more evidence the settlement is BS," wrote one antitrust advocate.
Nov 26, 2025
After securing a corporate-friendly settlement with the Trump Justice Department earlier this week, the real estate software company RealPage on Wednesday turned its attention to the state of New York, suing to block a recently enacted law aimed at preventing algorithmic rent-setting that has helped drive up housing costs nationwide.
The law in question prohibits software companies like RealPage, which is owned by a private equity firm, from enabling landlords to collude and push up rents. Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the measure into law last month, making the state one of the first in the nation to combat algorithmic price-fixing.
In a legal challenge filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, RealPage argues the state law is "a sweeping and unconstitutional ban on lawful speech specifically intended" to outlaw RealPage's software.
On the third page of the lawsuit, RealPage cites its pending settlement with the US Justice Department in an effort to bolster its case against New York's law, which advocates hailed as a major victory for renters.
"Especially because RealPage offers [revenue management software (RMS)] that does not reference any competitor’s non-public information when a customer is using the software, there is no plausible basis to conclude that RealPage’s RMS can be used to facilitate any form of collusion among RealPage customers," the lawsuit states. "In fact, this version of the software is specifically permitted by the U.S. Department of Justice under its proposed antitrust consent decree with RealPage."
"As if we need any more evidence the settlement is BS," replied Matt Stoller, director of research at the American Economic Liberties Project.
With sky-high housing costs a central focus in New York—particularly the successful New York City mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani—and across the country, RealPage and management companies that use its software have drawn heightened scrutiny. Last week, nine states reached a $7 million settlement with Greystar, the largest landlord in the US, in a lawsuit over the company's use of RealPage software to raise rents.
As part of the state settlement, Greystar agreed to no longer use rent-setting software that relies on private data from other landlords.
Late last year, during the presidency of Joe Biden, the Justice Department sued RealPage over the company's alleged "unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing."
“RealPage contracts with competing landlords who agree to share with RealPage nonpublic, competitively sensitive information about their apartment rental rates and other lease terms to train and run RealPage’s algorithmic pricing software,” said the Biden DOJ. “This software then generates recommendations, including on apartment rental pricing and other terms, for participating landlords based on their and their rivals’ competitively sensitive information.”
On Monday, the Trump Justice Department announced a proposed settlement with RealPage that the company openly welcomed, characterizing the deal as an effective endorsement of the legality of its product. The settlement, in which RealPage does not admit to any wrongdoing, still must be reviewed and approved by a court.
According to a report published last year by the Biden White House, algorithmic price-setting cost renters across the US nearly $4 billion in 2023 alone.
The American Prospect's David Dayen noted Wednesday that RealPage previously "promised landlord clients that it would generate 'revenue lift between 3% to 7%' by feeding rental data in a metro area into an algorithm that recommended price increases."
"Then, RealPage agents would tell landlords that they risked losing access to the platform if they didn’t comply with hiking rents," Dayen wrote. "This was a case of classic price-fixing."
"Not having to pay a nickel or admit wrongdoing is lenient enough," Dayen added, referring to the DOJ settlement. "But there are several loopholes even in the restrictions. RealPage can continue using past data to train AI models, which will inform future price recommendations. Public data can be aggregated and used for this purpose. And RealPage can continue using an 'auto-accept' feature for price recommendations, as long as clients can reconfigure it to opt out. We know from most of digital age history that opt-outs don’t work well."
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