Near A Data Center? Prepare For Blackouts This Winter

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reported Tuesday that winter electricity demand is increasing, especially in regions with high concentrations of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

NERC outlined in its 2025-2026 reliability report that “much of North America” is at risk of failing to meet demand in “extreme operating conditions.” Regions loaded with ⚡Energy-hungry AI data centers face heightened outage risks during intense winter weather, according to NERC.

“Winter electricity demand is rising at the fastest rate in recent years, particularly in areas where data center development is occurring,” NERC said on Tuesday. “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.”

Just four years ago, winter storm Uri devastated Texas and other parts of the South-Central U.S. along the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) power grids. NERC’s Reliability Assessments and Performance Analysis director, John Moura, said Tuesday that this coming winter resembles 2021 conditions.

“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% — as we saw in 2021 in ERCOT and SPP,” Moura said. “This latest assessment highlights progress on cold weather readiness but underscores that more work remains to ensure