Utilities to spend $1.4 trillion over 5 years amid data center boom

MoneyWatch Utility companies to spend $1.4 trillion over the next 5 years amid data center boom .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Mary Cunningham Mary Cunningham Reporter, MoneyWatch Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. She previously worked at "60 Minutes," CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program. Read Full Bio Mary Cunningham April 14, 2026 / 11:43 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google U.S. utility companies are planning to invest $1.4 trillion over the next five years to update the nation's ailing power grid as the data center boom intensifies the need for electricity.That's according to a new report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan nonprofit consumer education organization PowerLines, which analyzed capital spending plans from 51 investor-owned utilities. A majority of those companies, which serve 250 million U.S. customers, cited data centers as a top driver of capital expenditures in their earnings reports.Developers are rushing to build power-hungry data centers across the country as tech companies look to expand capacity for artificial intelligence computing. The boom has sparked local opposition from communities that fear rising electricity demand will result in higher utility bills. U.S. data centers consumed more than 4% of the country's total electricity in 2023, according to the MIT Energy Initiative. That could rise to 9% by 2030, the research group projects.Impact on consumersStrengthening the grid against severe weather and replacing aging infrastructure were among the reasons utilities cited for future investments, according to the PowerLines report. The $1.4 trillion that the utilities plan to spend over the next five years is an increase of more than 20% from their 2025 projections. Capital expenditure plans require approval from state utility regulators. The projected rise in spending could also transla...