Load Bearing
AI data centers, the end of flat demand, and the remaking of the utility planning order
No. 1, 26 October 2026. Decision brief, US power and utilities, 9 pages.
No. 1 Latest brief, 26 October 2026
LoadBearing
AI data centers, the end of flat demand, and the remaking of the utility planning order
By Liam Kranenburg. Decision brief on US power and utilities, 9 pages.
Start here
Three ways in
Read the argument, go straight to the numbers, or see how every figure gets checked before it is published.
Latest briefLoad BearingData centers drove roughly all US demand growth for a decade. The plants to serve them arrive after the forecasts that justify them.Explore the brief
10 findingsThe findings wallEvery key number, its source, and the page it comes from. Filter by theme or draw one at random.See the findings
MethodHow a brief is madeOne question, public data, every figure recomputed in code, then stress-tested.See the method
From Load Bearing
Numbers the brief stands on
Select a stone to read the finding, its source, and the page it comes from.
On the desk
What could change the numbers
Releases that could move a finding in Load Bearing. When one lands, the finding is checked again.
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GE Vernova third-quarter results
Turbine order books and delivery times could confirm or soften the 2031 lead-time finding. See the finding
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PJM 2029/30 capacity auction opens
A new clearing price extends the 11.4× capacity price series. See the finding
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Watching
Grid Strategies 2026 load forecast
Resets the 166 GW and 90 GW forecast baselines that the flexibility findings are measured against. See the finding
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Watching
LBNL revised annual data center series
Could move data centers' share of demand growth, now roughly all of it for 2014–23. See the finding
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