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DOE Invests Nearly $2B to Keep US Power Grids Working

William Attardi on September 26, 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) today announced its intention to help fund 31 grid-improvement projects across 26 states. The projects will receive $5.25 billion in total, $1.9 billion in federal funding from DOE and $3.35 billion in recipient cost-share funding, to improve grid reliability and lower electricity costs for approximately 100 million Americans. A full list of selected projects is available here. DOE Invests Nearly $2B to Keep US Power Grids Working

America’s Power Grid Can’t Keep Up with AI Demand by Ambia Staley

William Attardi on May 19, 2026

The U.S. needs about 5,000 miles of high-voltage transmission per year to keep pace with electricity demand. In 2024, just 888 miles were completed, according to an analysis by Grid Strategies. That gap is widening even as data center developers race to bring tens of gigawatts of new load online. The result is a structural mismatch between the speed at which demand arrives and the speed at which the grid can absorb it. Global electricity demand from data centers grew by 17% in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency, with AI-focused data center electricity consumption growing even faster, surging 50%. In the U.S., data centers now account for about half of the country’s incremental demand growth, according to the IEA’s global energy assessment. AI data centers have U.S. power grid struggling to keep up

Utilities Plan to Spend $1.4 Trillion Over Next Five Years to Power AI Boom by Jennifer Hiller

William Attardi on April 14, 2026

U.S. utilities are planning a historic investment spree to patch up an aging power grid and meet rising electricity demand for the artificial-intelligence boom. Capital spending plans for 51 investor-owned utilities have reached an estimated $1.4 trillion for the next five years, according to a new report from PowerLines, a consumer education group. That is up more than 20% from a year ago, when the companies planned to spend about $1.1 trillion over a five-year period. The record levels of capital investments are being driven by fresh demand on an aging electricity system that already needed upgrades. Unlike any prior customer, new AI data centers can consume the same amount of electricity as an entire city, with high demand around the clock. Beyond AI, many utilities are trying to keep up with growth in manufacturing, electric vehicles and residential markets, too. Utilities Plan to Spend $1.4 Trillion Over Next Five Years to Power AI Boom – WSJ

Hitachi to Invest $1 Billion to Produce Power Grid Components in US by Laila Kearney

William Attardi on September 5, 2025

Hitachi plans to invest $1 billion to expand its U.S. power grid infrastructure manufacturing, its energy unit said on Thursday, as the country faces record electricity demand from Big Tech’s build-out of AI data centers. The U.S. holds the biggest concentration in the world of data centers, which are expected to triple their energy use to consume about 12% of the domestic power supply in less than three years. As a result, many utilities are ramping up spending on the long-stagnating electrical grid. Nearly half of Hitachi Energy’s latest investment, or $457 million, will go towards building a new facility in South Boston, Virginia, to manufacture large power transformers. The facility will be the biggest U.S. producer of the massive transformers, which can run as large as a two-story home, Hitachi said.  Hitachi to invest $1 billion to produce power grid components in US | Reuters

The Creator of Baby Ruth Actually Sued Babe Ruth –The Baby Ruth candy bar was created by the Curtiss Candy Company in 1920 — the same year that baseball legend Babe Ruth hit a then-record 54 home runs. But the Great Bambino was irked that the company was selling a candy bar with such a similar name to his own without offering him any royalties. Rather than take the Curtiss Candy Company to court, the Sultan of Swat decided to make his own candy bar, and in 1926 he debuted Ruth’s Home Run bar. The Curtiss Candy Company responded by turning the tables and taking Ruth to court. They accused the slugger of trying to steal their trademark and capitalize on the success of their brand. In a 1931 deposition, Curtiss founder Otto Schnering insisted the candy was named after “Baby Ruth” Cleveland — the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.  He also attested that the company came up with the name in 1919 before the baseball player had become a household name and that the name was merely coincidental. While the validity of those claims is disputed to this day, the court nonetheless ruled in favor of the candy company, forcing Ruth to end his foray into the world of candy.