The 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) opened in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026. The COP31 Presidency has introduced an ambitious global objective to increase electricity's share of total final energy consumption from just over 20% today to 35% by 2035.
This means accelerating electrification across transportation, buildings, heating, and industrial processes.
At the same time, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and hyperscale data centers are creating unprecedented demand for electrical infrastructure. The International Energy Agency estimates that data centers could account for nearly half of U.S. electricity demand growth through 2030.
Taken together, these two trends point to unprecedented growth in electricity demand over the next 10 years, regardless of which political party controls Washington.
Republicans generally see AI, data centers, and domestic energy production as strategic drivers of economic growth, technological leadership, and national competitiveness. Democrats have traditionally placed greater emphasis on decarbonization, renewable energy, and electrification, making initiatives such as COP31's 35 by 35 consistent with many of their energy priorities.
The motivations may differ, but both directions point toward one outcome: more electricity and greater investment in electrical infrastructure. And that creates a major challenge.
What needs to be built
Building new generation capacity is only part of the solution. We also need substantial investment in:
- Power generating plants
- Power transformers and high-voltage substations
- Transmission and distribution infrastructure
- Grid reliability, resilience, and modernization
- Energy storage and flexible generation
- Equipment manufacturing capacity and supply chains
The next decade could be one of the most consequential periods for the power engineering industry in generations.
The chart illustrates scenarios of acceleration in electricity demand associated with data center expansion and broader electrification.
Are utilities, manufacturers, and grid planners prepared for 2035?
The short answer is that the power industry is moving in the right direction, but the pace of infrastructure development is not sufficient to meet the anticipated growth in electricity demand. While significant investments are being made in equipment manufacturing, generation capacity, AI-driven data centers, renewable energy, and electrification, the expansion of transmission and distribution infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck.
Long lead times for large power transformers, high-voltage equipment, and substation construction, combined with manufacturing capacity constraints, skilled workforce shortages, and lengthy permitting processes, could significantly delay grid expansion.
Utilities must accelerate long-term planning and capital investment, while manufacturers need to expand production capacity, strengthen supply chains, and invest in advanced technologies. Grid planners must also account for the concentration, magnitude, and rapid development of data center loads, which introduce challenges beyond traditional demand growth.
The real challenge of 2035 is not only generating enough electricity, but building a reliable, resilient, and sufficiently robust grid to deliver it where and when it is needed.