Anthropic announced that it will cover the full cost of power‑grid upgrades required for its new data centers, preventing those expenses from being passed on to nearby consumers. The AI firm said it will pay higher monthly electricity charges to fund 100 percent of the needed upgrades and will support new power‑source development. The move follows a broader industry trend, with other tech giants also committing to share infrastructure costs amid rising electricity rates and community concerns about energy‑intensive data‑center projects. Read more →

A massive winter storm swept across dozens of states, leaving hundreds of thousands without power and testing an already stressed electricity grid. The surge in demand from AI data centers, alongside traditional heating needs, caused wholesale electricity prices to spike dramatically in states like Virginia. Utilities scrambled to restore service while grappling with aging infrastructure, climate‑related damage, and the growing energy appetite of AI workloads. Experts warn that such weather events highlight the need for better grid planning and potential demand‑response measures to balance the new load from AI data centers. Read more →