Goldman Sachs Alerts: US Power Grids at Risk of Shortage by 2030
Almost all US power grids will lack critical spare capacity by 2030 as demand surges to supply data centers, with bottlenecks threatening to hand China an edge in the artificial-intelligence boom, according to an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Unless addressed, those constraints may ultimately allow China to pull ahead in the AI race, said Samantha Dart, Goldman’s co-head of global commodities research. “We aren’t adding enough capacity,” she stated during her remarks at the Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech and Utilities Conference in Miami.
Grids typically aim for a reserve margin of at least 15%—the difference between peak demand and available generation from coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewable plants. Alarmingly, some grids are already falling short, and this shortfall is expected to widen throughout the decade as data centers drive demand growth, Dart explained.
The US, characterized by a patchwork of regional grids and thousands of utilities managing smaller networks, is struggling to ramp up infrastructure investment after two decades of largely stagnant growth. While the Trump administration has prioritized the AI race, maintaining a competitive edge will hinge on whether regulators can cut red tape, update outdated market rules, and swiftly modernize aging infrastructure.
Compounding these challenges, energy inflation is becoming an increasingly pressing political and economic issue. Data centers are contributing to rising utility bills, which were already on the rise due to the need to maintain the grid and recover from extreme weather events and wildfires. Rising utility costs are likely to be a significant topic in gubernatorial elections scheduled for later this year in 36 states, according to Carly Davenport, Goldman’s head of US power and utilities equity research, who spoke on the same panel as Dart.
Over the past two years, average US utility bills have climbed approximately 9%, with notable increases of around 20% in New York City and Maryland. In contrast, costs have declined in states like Florida and New Hampshire, Davenport noted.
Photo: A power substation in Santa Clara, California. Photographer: Jason Henry/Bloomberg
Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
Interested in Trends?
Get automatic alerts for this topic.
Almost all US power grids will lack critical spare capacity by 2030 as demand surges to supply data centers, with bottlenecks threatening to hand China an edge in the artificial-intelligence boom, according to an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Unless addressed, those constraints may ultimately allow China to pull ahead in the AI race, said Samantha Dart, Goldman’s co-head of global commodities research. “We aren’t adding enough capacity,” she stated during her remarks at the Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech and Utilities Conference in Miami.
Grids typically aim for a reserve margin of at least 15%—the difference between peak demand and available generation from coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewable plants. Alarmingly, some grids are already falling short, and this shortfall is expected to widen throughout the decade as data centers drive demand growth, Dart explained.
The US, characterized by a patchwork of regional grids and thousands of utilities managing smaller networks, is struggling to ramp up infrastructure investment after two decades of largely stagnant growth. While the Trump administration has prioritized the AI race, maintaining a competitive edge will hinge on whether regulators can cut red tape, update outdated market rules, and swiftly modernize aging infrastructure.
Compounding these challenges, energy inflation is becoming an increasingly pressing political and economic issue. Data centers are contributing to rising utility bills, which were already on the rise due to the need to maintain the grid and recover from extreme weather events and wildfires. Rising utility costs are likely to be a significant topic in gubernatorial elections scheduled for later this year in 36 states, according to Carly Davenport, Goldman’s head of US power and utilities equity research, who spoke on the same panel as Dart.
Over the past two years, average US utility bills have climbed approximately 9%, with notable increases of around 20% in New York City and Maryland. In contrast, costs have declined in states like Florida and New Hampshire, Davenport noted.
Photo: A power substation in Santa Clara, California. Photographer: Jason Henry/Bloomberg
Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
Interested in Trends?
Get automatic alerts for this topic.
