Yauhen Massalski All lessons

How AI works · power

Enough chips, not enough power

AI needs chips. Chips need power. Some people now say power, not chips, is the limit. In 15 minutes, you learn how much power data centers use, why, and what it means for your home.

Data center
A building full of computers that run apps like ChatGPT.
Grid
The network of power lines and power plants that brings electricity to homes and buildings.
TWh
Terawatt-hour. A very large unit of electricity: 1 TWh is 1 billion kWh. Your home bill counts in kWh.

01 · The question

A friend says the chips are not the problem anymore

A friend reads the news. "There are enough chips now. The problem is power. Are data centers eating all the electricity?"

You use AI every day. You do not know if it will make your power bill go up.

After this lesson, you can answer in one minute.

First, a quick guess.

02 · Your guess

How much of the world's electricity do data centers use today?

A wrong guess costs nothing. Guessing first helps you remember the answer. Pick one to open the next part of the lesson.

03 · The 6 steps

From a chip to your power bill, in 6 steps

Press Next step to see each step.

1How much power
2Why AI uses more
3Cooling the heat
4Plants next door
5Local grids
6Your bill

04 · Remember

Small in the world, big in one place.

Worldwide, data centers use a small share of power. But they grow fast, and they sit in a few places. That is where people feel it.

So the answer to your friend is: partly. It is a local problem more than a world problem.

Data centers, share of world power, 20241.5%
IEA expects by 2030~3%
AI server power growth per year30%

In the town

A small town has 1,000 homes. A big factory opens at the edge of town. In the whole country it is tiny. For that town, the power lines are suddenly full.

What does it mean for normal people?

  1. Prices. In one big US grid area (PJM), the market monitor says data centers raised the wholesale power cost by 9.7% in early 2026. The monitor says not all of the rise came from data centers. Wholesale is not your bill, but it is part of it.
  2. Local grids. In the US, data centers cause almost half of the growth in power demand to 2030. A few regions carry most of it. New power lines and plants take years to build.
  3. New supply. Big companies sign long deals with nuclear plants and pay to restart one. That adds power. It also takes years, and the nuclear restart is planned for 2028.

Is AI the cause of everything?

No. The IEA says data centers cause less than 10% of the world's growth in power demand to 2030. Factories, electric cars and air conditioning matter more worldwide. Forecasts also differ: Berkeley Lab says 9.5% to 15.3% of US electricity by 2030.

05 · Two checks

Pass two checks to finish

A miss is fine. Each miss gives you a new case.

Check 1 of 2 · Which step is it?

06 · Tell a friend

Your one-minute answer at dinner

Say it in your own words. Here is a version you can use:

The one-minute version

"Data centers used about 1.5% of the world's electricity in 2024. The IEA expects about 3% by 2030, about as much as Japan uses today. AI servers grow about 30% a year, much faster than normal servers. Chips make heat, so cooling takes power too. Big companies now sign deals with nuclear plants. Microsoft with Constellation, Amazon with Talen. In the US, data centers are almost half of the growth in power demand. In one big grid area, the market monitor says they raised wholesale power costs by 9.7% in early 2026. So it is a local problem more than a world problem."

IEAInternational Energy Agency. Source of the world numbers.
ConstellationOwns Three Mile Island Unit 1. Restart deal with Microsoft, 20 years, about 835 MW.
TalenOwns the Susquehanna nuclear plant. Deal with Amazon, up to 1,920 MW.
PJMGrid operator in the eastern US. Its market monitor tracks costs.
Berkeley LabUS lab. Says data centers may use 9.5% to 15.3% of US power by 2030.

Try today: find the "kWh" line on your last power bill. Ask an AI to explain each line. Then check it with your provider's site.

This lesson explains how things work. It is not advice to buy or sell any stock, and it does not take a side in politics.

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