Electricity regulators have raised alarms that the rapid rise in AI applications might result in power outages across the US and Canada as early as next year. This forecast was made shortly after the launch of iOS 18.2, which introduced numerous new features related to Apple Intelligence.
Services powered by artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT and Apple’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, are projected to see their data center energy consumption double within just four years, leading to significant strain on power grids …
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a non-profit entity overseeing power generation regulations, expressed these concerns, as reported by the Financial Times.
According to the industry watchdog, North America’s electricity grid is facing “critical reliability challenges” as power production struggles to meet the skyrocketing demands of artificial intelligence […]
This energy shortfall may result in blackouts during peak usage periods in both nations by next year.
In its Long Term Reliability Assessment report, the NERC indicated that electricity demand is surging at an extraordinary rate, largely due to data centers powering AI technologies.
The findings correspond with predictions from the International Energy Agency, which estimated that data centers alone will consume over 1,000 terawatt-hours by 2026, doubling the figures from 2022.
This situation is exacerbated by the gradual decline of fossil fuel generation not being sufficiently counterbalanced by the growth of renewable energy sources.
NERC warns that the US Midwest is expected to be the first area impacted, but serious power outages could affect nearly all regions of the US and Canada within the next ten years.
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