Energy Executives: AI Power Demand Is Already Outrunning the Forecasts
A global survey of 1,800+ energy leaders finds 81% expect AI electricity demand to blow past current projections — a warning sign for grid planners and climate targets alike.
A new Global Energy Report survey, commissioned around Adipec and conducted by Kekst CNC with more than 1,800 energy-industry decision-makers across 78 countries, finds that 81% expect AI-driven electricity demand to exceed existing forecasts, with nearly a third expecting demand to land significantly higher. Only 3% think current projections overstate the picture.
The numbers behind that sentiment are striking: the International Energy Agency expects data centers to consume roughly 950 terawatt-hours of electricity by 2030, nearly double 2025 levels, and UAE minister Sultan Al Jaber has floated a fivefold increase in data-center electricity needs by 2040. About a quarter of surveyed executives say the energy industry isn't ready, citing grid connection delays as a top obstacle.
Forecast error at this scale isn't a rounding issue — it cascades into grid planning, siting decisions, and whether renewable buildout keeps pace with AI load growth. It's also a direct argument for AI for Ecology's push for standardized, independently auditable energy reporting from AI operators: when the people running the grid say the forecasts are already behind, better-measured, comparable data is how planners catch up instead of guessing.
Source: The National
