The power needed for processing artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto requests is putting heavy demand on power companies. It’s not just the new data centers that are being built that add to demand, though; Southern Company’s CFO Daniel Tucker explained recently that it’s also existing data centers that are ramping up to full capacity that are adding to power consumption. Bloomberg’s Josh Saul reports:
It’s not just new data centers that are driving massive increases in power consumption. Existing data centers in Southern Co.’s territory used 17% more electricity in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, Chief Financial Officer Daniel Tucker said Thursday.
The rise comes from data centers ramping up to their full capacity, or from the facilities increasing their processing capabilities, he said on an earnings call.
Utilities worldwide are scrambling to meet rising electricity demand from the data centers that enable artificial intelligence as well as more basic online operations. The surge in power demand is complicating climate goals as companies delay the retirement of coal plants and build new gas plants.
Southern has projected large demand increases, due to data centers, new factories and electric vehicles. The company sells power in three Southeast states and has around nine million customers.
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