AI data centers push US power demand to new records — and the Gulf faces the same squeeze

4.37 tn kWh: That’s the projected amount of electricity the US will burn up in 2027, Reuters reports, citing a new government forecast. The main reason is power-hungry AI data centers. Power use is set to rise from 4.22 tn kWh in 2025 to 4.31 tn in 2026 (both record years) before reaching the new peak.

CLOSER TO HOME: The US is at the forefront of the energy surge, but it’s not alone. Gulf grids face the same squeeze. If Saudi AI champion Humain’s planned 1.9 GW of data centers ran at full capacity, they’d use about 6% of all the electricity the kingdom uses today, S&P Global Ratings estimates. S&P also expects the UAE’s data centers to more than double their power use by 2030, it said in a recent report.