THE GRID
SECTION 13
ISSUE 001
Transformer Supply Gets Software
Projection: The IEA explicitly identifies transformers among constraints on AI-focused load growth; DOE-LBNL calls for power-system planning around rising demand. Software can coordinate allocation, interconnection queues, refurbishment, spares, and flexible loads. Value is demonstrated when projects connect sooner or operate more reliably than under spreadsheet-and-queue management.
Why this idea is here
What the evidence establishes.
The IEA reports fast 2025 datacenter electricity growth, rising AI-focused load, and constraints in grids, transformers, turbines, and approvals; DOE and LBNL project substantial U.S. datacenter load growth through 2028 and describe power-system planning measures for that growth. These are source-backed premises for this inference; they do not by themselves prove broad adoption or the eventual outcome.
Source ledger
Read the sources.
- S01Data centre electricity use surged in 2025
intergovernmental research release / published 2026-04-16 / retrieved 2026-07-09
- S02DOE Report on U.S. Data Center Energy Use
government research release / published 2024-12-20 / retrieved 2026-07-09