{"id":2513672,"date":"2025-11-23T06:30:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T11:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massive-winter-energy-blackouts-may-come-thanks-to-ai-data-centers-and-their-energy-consumption\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T06:34:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T11:34:03","slug":"massive-winter-energy-blackouts-may-come-thanks-to-ai-data-centers-and-their-energy-consumption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massive-winter-energy-blackouts-may-come-thanks-to-ai-data-centers-and-their-energy-consumption\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive Winter Energy Blackouts May Come Thanks to AI Data Centers and Their Energy Consumption"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmassive-winter-energy-blackouts-may-come-thanks-to-ai-data-centers-and-their-energy-consumption%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2513672&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has reported that winter electricity demand is rising rapidly, especially in areas wiht many artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. In its 2025-2026 reliability report,NERC warns that much of North America could struggle to meet electricity demand during extreme winter conditions.The demand growth, driven by data centers&#8217; continuous operation and other electrification trends, has outpaced the addition of generation capacity, increasing blackout risks. NERC highlights that the power grid must adapt to intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind, which are less reliable during peak winter demand times, and stresses the need for enhanced cold weather preparedness. the Department of Energy is taking measures to strengthen the grid,such as keeping a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >key coal plant operational longer<\/a> to prevent outages. The report also points out concerns from energy experts about the grid&#8217;s readiness amid the surge in AI-related power consumption, amid contrasting energy policies from recent U.S. administrations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The North American Electric Reliability Corporation reported Tuesday that winter electricity demand is increasing, especially in regions with high concentrations of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republican-says-trump-ushering-in-new-era-for-us-energy-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"House Republican says Trump ushering in \u2018new era\u2019 for US ... - Washington Examiner\">artificial intelligence data centers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>NERC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerc.com\/newsroom\/2025-winter-reliability-assessment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outlined<\/a> in its 2025-2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/nerc_wra_2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reliability report<\/a> that &ldquo;much of North America&rdquo; is at risk of failing to meet demand in &ldquo;extreme operating conditions.&rdquo; Regions loaded with energy-hungry AI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/east-coast-energy-radicals-campaigned-affordability-set-blow-utility-bills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">data centers<\/a> face heightened outage risks during intense winter weather, according to NERC.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Winter electricity demand is rising at the fastest rate in recent years, particularly in areas where data center development is occurring,&rdquo; NERC said on Tuesday. &ldquo;Although resources are adequate for normal winter peak demand, any prolonged, wide-area cold snaps will be challenging. This is largely due to rising electricity demand, which has grown by 20 GW since last winter, significantly outpacing winter on-peak capacity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Just four years ago, winter storm Uri <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ferc.gov\/news-events\/news\/final-report-february-2021-freeze-underscores-winterization-recommendations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">devastated<\/a> Texas and other parts of the South-Central U.S. along the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and Southwest Power Pool power grids. NERC Assessments and Performance Analysis Director John Moura said Tuesday that this coming winter resembles 2021 conditions.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Electricity demand continues to grow faster than the resources being added to the grid, especially during the most extreme winter conditions where actual demand can topple forecasts by as much as 25 percent &mdash; as we saw in 2021 in ERCOT and SPP,&rdquo; Moura said. &ldquo;This latest assessment highlights progress on cold weather readiness but underscores that more work remains to ensure energy and fuel supplies can be reliably delivered even during the harshest conditions.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>NERC also noted that grids need to prepare for intermittent sources like solar and wind as well as natural gas generating less electricity during low-output periods and potentially severe cold snaps.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In winter, peak <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/foreign-investor-says-waiting-4-years-trump-unveil-massive-20-billion-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">demands<\/a> typically occur before sunrise and after sunset coinciding with the unavailability of solar generation making the system dependent on wind generation and dispatchable resources,&rdquo; NERC said Tuesday. &ldquo;Data centers are altering the daily load shape due to their round-the-clock operating pattern, lengthening peak demand periods.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Because of the last administration&rsquo;s dangerous energy subtraction policies targeting reliable and affordable energy sources, the United States continues to face an energy emergency,&rdquo;&nbsp;Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday.&nbsp;&ldquo;The Trump administration will keep taking action to reverse these energy subtraction policies, lowering energy costs and minimizing the risks of blackouts. Americans deserve access to affordable, reliable and secure energy regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining, especially in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-left-out-in-the-cold-over-inauguration-switch-we-dont-know-squat-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Congress left out in the cold over inauguration switch: \u2018We don\u2019t know squat\u2019 - Washington Examiner\">dangerously cold weather<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Notably, the Department of Energy <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ENERGY\/status\/1991163723004760429\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced<\/a> Wednesday that it will reinforce the grid in preparation for winter through an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/ceser\/federal-power-act-section-202c-midcontinent-independent-system-operator-miso-order-no-202-25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">emergency order<\/a> keeping Michigan&rsquo;s J.H. Campbell coal plant operational until February 2026. The coal plant sits on the Midcontinent Independent System Operator power grid, which suffered a major outage over Memorial Day weekend &mdash; just two days after the Department of Energy first ordered the grid operator to keep J.H. Campbell online rather than retire it early.<\/p>\n<p>Data centers, electrification, and semiconductor manufacturing are straining the grid in certain regions across America, according to NERC.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration pushed for electrification, and the Trump administration has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/fact-sheets\/2025\/07\/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-accelerates-federal-permitting-of-data-center-infrastructure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">embraced<\/a> the AI race, though energy policy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3176137\/ai-data-overwhelm-power-grid-regulators-warn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">experts<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/business\/2025\/09\/13\/big-techs-energy-hungry-data-centers-could-be-bumped-off-grids-during-power-emergencies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grid watchdogs<\/a> are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/ai-data-centers-us-chips-electricity-power-crunch-shortage-goldman-2025-11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">concerned<\/a> that America&rsquo;s power grid is not ready for the surge in data center demand.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reported on Tuesday that winter electricity demand is rising, particularly in areas with many artificial intelligence data centers. In its 2025-2026 reliability report, NERC warned that &#8220;much of North America&#8221; could struggle to meet demand during &#8220;extreme operating conditions.&#8221; Areas with numerous power-intensive AI data centers face increased risks of outages during severe winter weather. NERC noted that winter electricity demand is growing faster than in recent years, especially where data center development is expanding. While resources are sufficient for typical winter peaks, prolonged and widespread cold spells will pose significant challenges due to a 20 GW increase in electricity demand since last winter-outpacing available capacity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2513673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-11-20T085252.568.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[67548,4486,33435,34518,67549],"class_list":["post-2513672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ai-data-centers","tag-energy","tag-energy-consumption","tag-power-outages","tag-winter-blackouts"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-11-20T085252.568.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2513672"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2513676,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513672\/revisions\/2513676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2513673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2513672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2513672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2513672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}