"The surge in electricity demand is not inherently a problem. It reflects the technology-fueled progress that electrification can deliver. But rising demand is already starting to drive up electricity prices and push the grid to its limits. Without rapid action, consumers will pay more, businesses will be less competitive, and the country will risk losing its lead in technological innovation and advanced manufacturing.
Although the United States must build new power plants, these alone cannot produce enough electricity fast enough to meet skyrocketing demand. Another solution, however, is readily available: squeezing more out of the existing electric system. U.S. energy infrastructure has much more to give. On average, roughly half the electric infrastructure in the United States sits idle at any point in time. This is because the U.S. electric system was engineered for moments of intense demand—the rare episodes of extreme heat or cold when the need for electricity peaks—not for delivering power to consumers in the cheapest and most efficient way. What has resulted is a system full of inefficiencies and lost potential.
The technology to get more out of the system already exists. Batteries can store excess power, sensors can boost how much electricity moves across wires, and software can aggregate distributed energy sources in homes and buildings and make them work together like power plants. Utilities, energy companies, and grid operators need to shift their focus from maximizing energy output to prioritizing improvements that will lower prices and increase reliability for consumers. In the face of rising prices and mounting macroeconomic stress, policymakers and energy players need to meet the political moment by adopting simple, straightforward reforms to utilities and energy markets that will benefit both individual consumers and the broader economy."
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/coming-electricity-crisis-data-brian-deese#
