A new issue of The Takeaway examines how the rapid growth of AI infrastructure, data centers, and electrified industries is driving a sharp increase in U.S. electricity demand.

COLLEGE STATION, TX (April 2026) – As the world transitions to highly technological lifestyles fueled by rapid AI growth and electric transportation, electric energy has become central to sustaining innovation. This Takeaway examines the unprecedented pace of rising electricity demand in the United States and the challenges it poses for grid reliability and economic competitiveness. It highlights the crucial role of electricity as a commodity that will define U.S. standing in the global market and warns that, without reforms, demand is likely to outstrip supply. To meet these challenges, the article advocates for a coordinated approach among federal and state governments, utilities, and large electricity users to collaborate on policy, cost sharing, and innovation to ensure the nation’s energy supply keeps pace with rising demand. 

You can read the full policy brief at “Addressing Increased U.S. Power Needs: A Comprehensive Technical and Policy Approach to AI Infrastructure and Data Center Electricity Demand”. Author Mohamed Abdelhady is a 2nd-year PhD student of Interdisciplinary Engineering at the Texas A&M Energy Institute. Eleftherios Iakovou is the Associate Director of Resilience and Sustainability of Integrated Energy and Manufacturing Supply Chains at the Texas A&M Energy Institute. He holds the Harvey Hubbell Professorship of Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University and is the Co-Director of the Global Value Chains Program at the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy. Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos is the Director of the Texas A&M Energy Institute and a University Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University. He holds the Dow Chemical Chair in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), and the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK). Raymond Robertson is the Director of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy and the Helen and Roy Ryu Professor of Economics and Government at the Bush School. He is also an Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) Research Fellow.

The Takeaway is a publication of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University.