Duke Energy CEO Says AI and Electrification Could Push US Power Demand to Grow 10 Times Faster
Duke Energy’s chief executive said the rise of artificial intelligence and the broader electrification of the economy could push U.S. power demand to grow at 10 times the pace seen over the past several decades, underscoring how quickly utilities are being forced to rethink long-term planning. The comments, reported by Bloomberg, place Duke among the major power companies preparing for a surge in electricity use from AI data centers, factories, and other new sources of demand.
The forecast matters because utilities build generation and transmission infrastructure over many years, and a faster-than-expected jump in demand can strain grids, raise costs, and change investment priorities. Duke’s view reflects a wider industry debate over whether the next wave of AI adoption will create a durable new load on the power system or whether expectations are running ahead of reality.
The Bloomberg report comes as other business leaders are also weighing the implications of AI spending. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan recently discussed consumer affordability, lending, and AI investment in the banking sector, while Rockefeller International’s Ruchir Sharma warned that the market’s AI-driven earnings story may be less solid than investors assume. Together, those remarks suggest that AI is now influencing not just technology markets but also finance, energy, and industrial planning.
For utilities such as Duke, the central question is how much of that AI-related demand will materialize, where it will be built, and how quickly power providers can add capacity. Data centers are especially important because they require large, steady amounts of electricity, and their concentration in certain regions can create bottlenecks for local grids and permitting systems.
The issue also extends beyond the United States. Bloomberg also reported on Darshan Hiranandani of India’s Hiranandani Group, who said his company wants to help turn India into a hub for cloud computing, AI, and digital services. That reflects a global push to build the infrastructure behind AI, with power supply emerging as one of the biggest constraints.
What happens next will depend on whether utilities, regulators, and major technology customers can coordinate new investments quickly enough to meet demand. If Duke’s outlook proves accurate, the industry may be entering a period of unusually rapid buildout in power generation and transmission, driven in large part by the growth of AI.