The Kansas Reflector recently reported that Southwest Power Pool is projecting at least a 96% increase in energy usage over the next decade.

What's happening?

Southwest Power Pool is a regional transmission organization, a nonprofit corporation mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure competitive rates, reliable power supplies, and suitable transmission infrastructure for its members.

Experts at the organization are predicting that the 14-state region it covers will experience a 96% surge in energy usage over the next 10 years, according to the Kansas Reflector. The company reached this estimated percentage by focusing on data, including current and past energy usage, extreme weather patterns, and the growth of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.

In fact, data centers driven by AI account for roughly 40% of the estimated 96% increase in energy usage. However, usage by industrial and small businesses, along with residential buildings, is also expected to add significantly to the rise, as will future extreme weather events.

Why is this energy increase concerning?

Although Southwest Power Pool expects many factors to contribute to the future rise in energy usage, cryptocurrency operations and AI-driven data centers will contribute the most. Both of these things involve massive energy demands that require them to draw incredible amounts of electricity. 

As such, both crypto operations and data centers significantly contribute to the amount of carbon pollution in the atmosphere that is responsible for heating our planet. Additionally, these types of operations sometimes destabilize local electric grids, leaving communities without power. 

Add to that the increased energy usage caused by extreme weather and everyday use by businesses and homes, and the result is far more heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, along with a higher risk of grid destabilization and potential rising electricity costs. 

However, the good news is that crypto and data center operations also have the potential to be powered by renewable energy sources, and crypto operations could even help finance development on new renewable energy projects. Whether this rapidly growing and complex industry decides to promote sustainability or not, though, remains to be seen.

What's being done by Southwest Power Pool to meet demand?

Federal regulators recently gave Southwest Power Pool the go-ahead to plan how to meet the estimated upcoming growth proactively. This will allow the organization to diversify resources, plan for system reliability, and more. 

As the Kansas Reflector reported, the chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission, Andrew French, explained, "The next few years will be extremely important for our electric utilities to think strategically and work with regulators to position customers in the state advantageously for the coming years. We need to be ready to seize on economic development opportunities while also being thoughtful and mitigating risks to affordability and reliability."

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