According to Axios, artificial intelligence's growing appetite for electricity is forcing a once-in-a-generation reckoning with America's power grid. Data centers now demand electricity in volumes that would have powered entire cities just years ago. The question facing regulators at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the nation's largest grid operator, PJM, is fundamental: Who pays for the infrastructure? Who gets access to scarce power? How quickly can projects connect? Some companies are proposing to bypass the traditional grid entirely—connecting directly to power plants or generating their own electricity on-site. The decisions being made in the coming weeks could accelerate a historic expansion of the electrical grid or create a parallel power system running alongside it. The outcome will shape electricity prices, grid reliability, and the pace of AI development for decades.

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