AI and the energy system 2026: demand, grids and operations

Executive summary

AI touches the energy system twice: as a fast-growing source of electricity demand, and as a tool for planning and operating networks under pressure. Both are now board-level issues for utilities, grid operators and large energy users.

Demand from data centres is rising quickly. Data centres consumed about 415 TWh in 2024, around 1.5% of global electricity. In the IEA’s base case this reaches about 945 TWh by 2030, just under 3% of global demand, with electricity use by accelerated servers, driven mainly by AI, growing about 30% a year [1]. In the United States, data centres account for nearly half of electricity demand growth to 2030 [1].
Grid connections are the bottleneck. More than 2,500 GW of renewable, storage and large-load projects are stalled in grid connection queues worldwide [2]. The IEA estimates that flexible connection agreements and grid-enhancing technologies, such as dynamic line rating and advanced power-flow control, could free capacity for 1,200 to 1,600 GW of advanced-stage projects [2].
Utilities are using AI, but scaling slowly. In National Grid Partners’ 2026 survey of 134 utility innovation leaders, 78% were deploying at least one AI application to manage interconnection demand, and 84% said moving a project from pilot to full rollout takes more than a year [3].
Cyber risk to energy infrastructure is real. In December 2025, coordinated attacks on Polish wind and solar farms and a combined heat and power plant cut communications between the affected sites and distribution system operators, although electricity generation was not disrupted [4].
AI in grid operation is high-risk in the EU. AI used as a safety component in the management and operation of critical infrastructure, including the supply of electricity, gas and heating, is high-risk under the AI Act [5], with obligations applying from 2 December 2027 [6].

Key findings

01Data centres used about 415 TWh in 2024, around 1.5% of global electricity, and could reach about 945 TWh by 2030

02More than 2,500 GW of renewable, storage and large-load projects are stalled in grid connection queues worldwide

0384% of utility innovation leaders say moving an AI project from pilot to full rollout takes more than a year

Global data centre electricity use

2024

415 TWh

2030 (IEA base case)

945 TWh

Source: IEA, Energy and AI, 2025

Utilities and AI for grid interconnection

Deploying at least one AI application

78%

Say pilot to rollout takes over a year

84%

Source: National Grid Partners, 2026

What leaders should do

Plan for large new loads using a range of data centre demand scenarios, not a single forecast.
Prioritise AI and grid-enhancing technologies that release connection capacity on existing networks.
Treat AI in grid operations as high-risk: document it, test it and secure the operational technology around it.

What this report covers

Electricity demand from data centres
Grid connection queues
Where utilities use AI
Cyber risk and resilience
Regulation of AI in critical infrastructure
What to do in 2027

Methodology

We reviewed public sources published between 2024 and October 2026, favouring material from 2025 and 2026. These include international energy analysis (IEA), an industry survey of utility innovation leaders (National Grid Partners), reporting on recent cyber incidents and EU legislation. IEA projections are scenarios with significant uncertainty, and the IEA publishes alternative cases. Each figure is cited to a dated source. Where we relied on a secondary report of a primary document, the source list says so. Surveys are self-reported and should be read as indicators, not audited results. We did not survey organisations directly.