The race for artificial intelligence (AI), or superintelligence, will be won not just by technology companies, but by the nation that can deliver reliable, affordable and secure electricity.
asserted
that → win → electricity
America is in a high-stakes sprint to lead the world in AI.
asserted
America → lead → AI
This technology will reshape our economy, strengthen national defense, transform manufacturing and determine which nations lead the next generation of innovation.
asserted
nations → reshape → innovation
But Washington and Silicon Valley cannot afford to ignore a glaring bottleneck: AI runs on electricity.
asserted
AI → afford → electricity
America must dramatically expand its power generation and delivery infrastructure if it hopes to remain the global technology leader.
asserted
it → expand → infrastructure
They require enormous amounts of electricity, reliable grid connections and specialized infrastructure.
asserted
They → require → electricity
Without sufficient power, advanced AI systems are little more than expensive hardware waiting for a connection.
asserted
systems → wait → connection
This creates an immense opportunity for America’s electric utilities.
asserted
This → create → utilities
For too long, utilities have been viewed simply as service providers.
asserted
utilities → view → providers
To win the AI race, America must unleash domestic energy production, accelerate infrastructure development, defend against cyber threats and ensure that the private sector — not residential ratepayers — finances this expansion.
asserted
sector → win → expansion
This is a crucial opportunity for the administration, Congress, state governments and the private sector to coordinate an energy strategy that prioritizes American competitiveness.
asserted
that → coordinate → competitiveness
Let the private sector finance growth
Electric utilities possess the engineering expertise and operational experience necessary to support data center expansion.
asserted
utilities → let → expansion
They understand regional demand, transmission constraints and the complex mechanics of grid reliability.
asserted
They → understand → reliability
However, building the necessary infrastructure takes time; new generation facilities, transmission lines and substations often require years of planning, permitting and construction.
asserted
facilities → build → planning
Data center developers, meanwhile, want to move quickly to capitalize on the AI boom.
asserted
developers → want → boom
To bridge this gap, utilities and developers must collaborate much earlier in the process, aligning construction schedules, forecasting demand and identifying necessary upfront investments.
asserted
utilities → bridge → investments
Washington can support this by streamlining permitting and reducing regulatory delays to provide long-term investment certainty.
asserted
Washington → support → certainty
Crucially, data center developers must bear their fair share of the infrastructure costs driven by their massive electricity demands.
asserted
developers → bear → demands
Residential customers and small businesses should not subsidize infrastructure built primarily to serve trillion-dollar technology companies.
asserted
customers → subsidize → companies
Long-term power purchase agreements, dedicated infrastructure investments and minimum billing commitments can ensure large customers contribute appropriately.
asserted
customers → ensure → ?
This is an argument for responsible, pro-business growth where financial risks are not shifted onto ordinary Americans.
asserted
risks → shift → Americans
The White House’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge reinforces the principle that America can accelerate AI innovation without forcing ordinary Americans to subsidize Big Tech’s infrastructure demands.
asserted
America → reinforce → demands
Electric utilities can benefit from increased electricity sales, long-term power contracts and investments in generation and grid infrastructure, provided data center developers pay their fair share of the costs.
asserted
developers → benefit → costs
To protect consumers, we must require transparent cost allocation, enforceable commitments from large data center customers and safeguards preventing residential ratepayers from being left with stranded infrastructure costs if projects are delayed, scaled back or abandoned.
asserted
projects → protect → costs
Energy dominance requires real abundance
America cannot achieve energy dominance if it cannot generate enough electricity to power its expanding economy.
asserted
it → require → economy
Meeting this challenge requires an "all-of-the-above" strategy that evaluates energy resources strictly based on reliability, affordability and availability.
asserted
that → meet → reliability
Natural gas provides essential dispatchable generation, while nuclear energy offers dependable baseline power with low operational emissions.
asserted
energy → provide → emissions
Hydroelectric power, wind, solar and battery storage all contribute where they make economic sense.
asserted
they → contribute → sense
Existing coal facilities also remain part of the equation where continued operation is economic and legally compliant.
asserted
operation → exist → equation
No single technology can solve every regional power challenge.
asserted
technology → solve → challenge
Utilities need the flexibility to select the optimal resource mix for their customers.
asserted
Utilities → need → customers
The objective is straightforward: build enough reliable generation and transmission capacity to meet rising demand without spiking energy prices.
asserted
objective → build → prices
This is vital as data centers increasingly compete for power with manufacturers, hospitals, military bases and households.
asserted
centers → compete → manufacturers
Securing the grid from cyber threats
There is another critical threat that deserves far more attention: cybersecurity.
asserted
that → secure → attention
Power disruptions halt essential computing services, while software incidents at technology providers can ripple back to affect critical infrastructure.
asserted
incidents → halt → infrastructure
Foreign adversaries and sophisticated cybercriminals understand these critical dependencies.
asserted
adversaries → understand → dependencies
America cannot achieve energy dominance if it cannot generate enough electricity to power its expanding economy.
asserted
it → achieve → economy
Electric utilities operate vital infrastructure that must withstand attacks against corporate networks, industrial control systems and substations.
asserted
that → operate → networks
Concurrently, data centers face distinct risks involving cloud platforms, software supply chains and third-party vendor access.
asserted
centers → face → platforms
These are interconnected risks that could have significant national security consequences.
uncertain
that → interconnect → consequences
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
