With the advent of AI, the power demand is rising like never before. The US might struggle to match future power needs. Much of the power the US uses today is concentrated in key sectors, including commercial and transportation. To power the country, we will need over 5,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity by 2050.  

Without power, the country would not work as it does today. Fuel would become harder to access, communication networks would fail, supply chains would be disrupted, and banking systems would shut down. Currently, the US power grid has several inefficiencies that cause 5% of electricity distributed across the US to be lost annually, which would be about 203 TWh. 

It would be best to enhance our power infrastructure, but that is quite complicated. Many of the transmission lines, transformers, and substations were implemented decades ago and are soon going to be unusable. With the grid spanning more than 400,000 miles, modernizing it will require a lot of time and money. Rising equipment costs, long lead times, and extensive interconnection queues make the process even more complicated.  

Nonetheless, it is quite important to strengthen the country’s power grid and increase transformer capacity for the future. Some of the ways the US can support future reliability include exploring different power sources, streamline power system project approvals, and provide higher quality infrastructure equipment. Upgrading the country’s infrastructure will not only help meet growing demand but also increase support for clean energy and encourage economic growth. 

Source: ELSCO