All articles tagged with #electricity
Ontario premier Doug Ford warned that Canada should be ready to use leverage against the United States in the tariff dispute, including potentially cutting electricity exports and restricting Ontario’s supply of critical minerals, while also flagging oil and potash as options; the comments come as U.S. tariffs magnify a cross-border confrontation deeply tied to the auto sector and strategic minerals like nickel and uranium.
Chicago is rapidly becoming a national data-center hub with dozens of facilities citywide and more planned across Cook County, attracted by cheaper power, abundant water, and a favorable central location, but the growth raises concerns about electricity and water use, higher utility bills, noise and emissions, and strain on infrastructure. Regulators have paused new state tax incentives, the city has imposed stricter permitting and review rules, and proposals like the POWER Act seek to shift infrastructure costs to centers and require environmental disclosures, while public opinion remains mixed.
Cuba’s state electric grid collapsed late Sunday, plunging roughly 10 million people into a nationwide blackout amid fuel shortages and a U.S. oil blockade that has strained imports; the outage follows three blackouts in July, with officials offering few details as the aging system and tight fuel supply press on.
Cuba’s state electricity grid collapsed late Sunday, plunging about 10 million people into darkness as fuel shortages and a US oil blockade strain aging infrastructure; the outage follows three nationwide blackouts in July. Havana has struggled to secure imports, with Venezuela and Mexico reducing supplies, while the government moves to loosen controls by authorizing foreign-backed fuel imports and allowing wholesale fuel distribution to hundreds of Cuban businesses.
Cuba’s national power grid collapsed, plunging the island into a nationwide blackout with no immediate cause or restoration timeline given. Prior outages stemmed from damaged transformers, circuit failures and planned cuts due to limited generating capacity. The crisis, fueled by aging, undermaintained plants and shortages of fuel and replacement parts, has disrupted transport, water, communications and medical services, while authorities try to isolate hospitals and essential facilities as they gradually reconnect power. The government blames the US embargo for fuel cuts, though others cite decades of underinvestment and mismanagement; disruptions from Venezuela and Mexico have further strained supplies in a year already marked by frequent blackouts.
AI adoption is contributing to higher inflation by boosting energy demand from data centers, driving memory-chip shortages, and lifting prices in consumer electronics and software. Data-center electricity use pressures grids and residential rates, memory chips are in tight supply, and major brands have raised prices (Apple, Sony, Microsoft) to cover AI-driven costs. Construction wages for data-center buildouts may also push housing costs higher. Analysts estimate AI adds about 0.2 percentage points to inflation, with the potential to broaden as AI investment continues.
Solar generated a record 52 TWh in June 2026, supplying 25% of EU electricity and becoming the bloc’s largest power source for the month, driven by heat and long sunny days; this follows years of rapid growth and 18 EU countries setting monthly solar records in 2026, with notable shares in Spain (34%), Germany (36%), and Poland (24%).
Bloomberg, citing Lazard’s analysis, reports the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for US gas-fired plants rose to about $90 per megawatt-hour in 2026, up from $78 in 2025 and the highest since 2009. Solar and onshore wind costs also climbed to $69/MWh and $68/MWh, respectively. The rise reflects stronger demand (including data centers) and higher fuel costs, helping explain higher utility bills and underscoring energy-cost concerns ahead of upcoming elections.
A surge in AI-driven data-center investment—likely topping $700B this year—drives up memory chips, processors and electricity, helping push prices for laptops, smartphones, consoles and other electronics higher. Economists expect AI-related spending to keep core inflation modestly elevated through year-end, potentially prompting higher Fed rates, while utilities raise prices to cover new capacity; some chip costs could soar up to ~400% from 2024 to year-end, with prices for devices from Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Dell and HP already rising.
A new Energy Innovation analysis argues Trump’s push to roll back renewables and expand fossil fuels would raise, not lower, U.S. electricity bills, predicting households will pay about $460 more by 2035 and up to $490 more by 2040, with total costs exceeding half a trillion dollars by 2040. The report cites ending clean-energy tax credits, slower adoption of EVs, a longer life for coal plants, and rising grid costs driven by data-center demand; it also warns solar deployment will stall after 2030 without renewed incentives.
AI demand is redefining data-centre location: power availability and price are now the primary constraints, not nearby talent. Iowa’s wind and land costs attract major players; Northern Virginia’s legacy fibre and network effects are now tested by grid limits; Ireland’s growth paused by grid strain and new renewable sourcing rules. Together, these cases show that energy policy and generation capacity, not just talent, will shape the next global data-centre map.
New York City residents report rising electricity bills during a historic heat wave: 47% can run air conditioning comfortably, 44% have AC but limit use to keep costs down, and 9% have no AC or won’t say. The issue is tied to state levies on utilities, with Gov. Hochul proposing up to $200 energy rebates for more than 8 million New Yorkers as part of the budget. The poll of 614 voters conducted June 12–17 has a margin of error of ±3.96 percentage points, highlighting a cost-and-health tradeoff in this election year.
Northern France faced thousands of power cuts during a blistering heatwave, with authorities prioritizing healthcare facilities and providing generators to retirement homes after a transformer incident linked to the heat; the heatwave extended across western Europe, disrupting transport, forcing closures, and triggering health alerts as record temperatures persisted.
U.S. solar power generation has, for the first time, surpassed coal as the dominant source of electricity, signaling a historic shift in the nation’s energy mix driven by cheaper solar and retirements of coal plants, with potential implications for emissions, pricing, and grid planning.
Americans face record-high summer electricity bills as extreme heat drives up cooling use; the average household is projected to spend about $792 on electricity from June through September, up 10.5% from last year and nearly 40% higher than in 2020, with one in six households behind on utility bills and advocates urging Congress to boost LIHEAP funding to $7 billion for fiscal year 2027.