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Faster-than-Expected Data Center Load Growth May Cause Increased Regional Short-term Fossil Fuel Generation and Wholesale Electricity Prices

LCG, March 18, 2026--The EIA released a new "In-depth Analysis" of the potential impact of faster-than-expected near-term growth in data center power demand on power generation and wholesale prices on March 12. The analysis models the lower 48 states through 2027 and compares results to its base case scenario. Key takeaway from this sensitivity analysis is the potential increase in fossil fuels in some regions and potentially a significant increase in wholesale prices in ERCOT.

Read more

Faster-than-Expected Data Center Load Growth May Cause Increased Regional Short-term Fossil Fuel Generation and Wholesale Electricity Prices

LCG, March 18, 2026--The EIA released a new "In-depth Analysis" of the potential impact of faster-than-expected near-term growth in data center power demand on power generation and wholesale prices on March 12. The analysis models the lower 48 states through 2027 and compares results to its base case scenario. Key takeaway from this sensitivity analysis is the potential increase in fossil fuels in some regions and potentially a significant increase in wholesale prices in ERCOT.

Read more

Industry News

Canada's Ontario Province Faces Power Shortages

LCG, March 8, 2001The Canadian province of Ontario could face electric power shortages if government regulators fail to authorize more private power plants soon, the Toronto Star reported this morning.

Rob McLeese, a spokesman for independent power producers, told the paper that some power plant developers who have been interested in building facilities in the province are "wavering" about investing in Ontario.

"They have plenty of other opportunities around the world, and will cross Ontario off their list if they don't get decisions soon," said McLeese, president of the Independent Power Producers Society of Ontario.

Ontario had planned to open its electricity market to competition last November, complete with a power exchange. But that plan was tabled for six months and then shelved indefinitely. Now, with no date in view where they can sell power onto the provincial grid, the power producers are becoming restive.

"The investors who have the money and the know-how to do this are looking at a global picture," McLeese warned. "They're not looking just at Ontario."

And that could add up to power shortages for the province according to McLeese, because "we don't have any new generation, and our generation is all running down."

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