Investor-owned utilities are planning to pour at least $1.4 trillion into new capital expenditures through 2030, a report released Tuesday by a national consumer education nonprofit found.
That represents a more than 21 percent increase from the $1.1 trillion over a five-year period that was outlined last year, according to PowerLines, which reviewed 51 investor-owned utility earnings calls in recent months.
The group’s new report shows that U.S. utilities are planning to update power plants, transmission lines and distribution wires in the face of rising power demand, fueled in part by the growth of artificial intelligence and data centers.
The majority of utilities cited data centers and load growth, as well as system resiliency, extreme weather mitigation and replacing aging infrastructure as top drivers of their plans in their earnings calls, according to PowerLines.
