Half of Americans at High Risk of Power Shortfalls Amid AI Boom

As many as 151 million Americans are at high risk of power shortfalls — or outright blackouts — over the next five years because of extreme weather, natural gas system vulnerabilities and soaring electricity demand, according to a report by the grid reliability regulator.

Areas deemed at high risk span the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Pacific Northwest and Texas, and include the three largest US grids, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s annual assessment.

The report marks a significant threat escalationfrom last year due to a perfect storm of stressors on the US power system: aging ...