State regulators are increasingly requiring major technology companies to fund their own electrical grid infrastructure expansions, a shift that threatens traditional utility stocks amid growing political pressure over the costs of powering artificial intelligence operations.
As AI data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity, the burden of upgrading power systems to meet demand has become a contentious political issue. Lawmakers and regulators are moving to ensure that technology companies bear the financial responsibility for grid improvements rather than passing those costs to consumers and existing utilities.
