Aug 19, 2026 · 16 min · 6 segments
AI, data centers, and electrification are driving a surge in power demand. Can the grid keep up? We discuss the opportunities and challenges ahead. For more content, please visit ubs.com/studios.
Paul BaiocchiGuest
Anthony PastoreHost
I mean, a- and regulation could potentially be a headwind here and there as well.
I mean, we know that in New York State they put a moratorium of one year on any new data center build-outs, and that might be something that we might see pop up more and more as we go through this process of trying to add more data centers to supply the AI and technology that's needed to run all of this.
[laughs] So that's sort of like, it's like the, the cat eating its own tail, you know?
I think as we try and improve the grid and we invest all of this money in modernizing the grid and we try and overlay all of these emerging technologies on the grid, there's gonna be a winding road to where we want to go.
The, the local utility Xcel actually was sued because of a fire that nobody could actually necessarily place blame on them-
And so they've instituted what's called a public safety power shutoff, meaning they preemptively shut down parts of the grid when there's a windstorm or dry conditions.
We're seeing that at the residential level where people are trying to take control of their own electricity, understanding that the grid is fraught.
And we're expected, based on Bloomberg's forecast, to spend $100 billion a year over the course of the next 25 years on the grid, not on data centers, not on necessarily- Generation just on the grid-
The utilities in the United States, regulated independent power producers, are gonna spend upwards of 1.3, 1.4 trillion in CapEx over the next five years.
I mean, a- and regulation could potentially be a headwind here and there as well.
I mean, we know that in New York State they put a moratorium of one year on any new data center build-outs, and that might be something that we might see pop up more and more as we go through this process of trying to add more data centers to supply the AI and technology that's needed to run all of this.
[laughs] So that's sort of like, it's like the, the cat eating its own tail, you know?
I think as we try and improve the grid and we invest all of this money in modernizing the grid and we try and overlay all of these emerging technologies on the grid, there's gonna be a winding road to where we want to go.
The, the local utility Xcel actually was sued because of a fire that nobody could actually necessarily place blame on them-
And so they've instituted what's called a public safety power shutoff, meaning they preemptively shut down parts of the grid when there's a windstorm or dry conditions.
We're seeing that at the residential level where people are trying to take control of their own electricity, understanding that the grid is fraught.
And we're expected, based on Bloomberg's forecast, to spend $100 billion a year over the course of the next 25 years on the grid, not on data centers, not on necessarily- Generation just on the grid-
The utilities in the United States, regulated independent power producers, are gonna spend upwards of 1.3, 1.4 trillion in CapEx over the next five years.
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