White House And Governors Confront AI Power Crisis

On Friday, January 16, 2026, Americans in regions as far apart as the mid-Atlantic and Northern Colorado found themselves at the center of an intensifying debate—and, for some, literal uncertainty—over the nation’s strained power grid. From the corridors of the White House to the windswept plains of Colorado, the challenges of keeping the lights on amid technological advances and climate risks have never felt more urgent or more personal.

In Washington, D.C., the White House convened a high-profile event with a bipartisan group of governors, aiming to tackle the mounting power shortages and price spikes linked to the explosive growth of artificial intelligence data centers. According to Bloomberg and confirmed by the White House, the National Energy Dominance Council, along with governors from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia, sought to pressure PJM Interconnection—the operator of the vast mid-Atlantic power grid—to take immediate action. Their main proposal: compel PJM to hold a power auction where tech companies could bid for contracts to build new power plants, a move designed to increase energy supply and rein in soaring costs.

“Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities, and this would deliver much-needed, long-term relief to the mid-Atlantic region,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said, as reported by Bloomberg. The urgency is palpable. As the November elections approach, voters’ anxieties over rising electric bills and the fairness of who pays for Big Tech’s energy appetite are coming to the fore. The stakes are high in communities already grappling with fast-climbing utility costs and in political contests where energy affordability could tip the balance.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, was expected to attend the White House event. According to a source familiar with his plans, Shapiro made his participation contingent upon including a provision to extend a limit on wholesale electricity price increases for the region’s consumers—a move likely to resonate with voters feeling the pinch. Yet, not everyone was at the table. PJM Interconnection, the very grid operator at the center of the debate, was pointedly not invited. “PJM was not invited. Therefore we would not attend,” spokesperson Jeff Shields said, underscoring the tensions between policymakers and the companies tasked with keeping the grid humming.

Meanwhile, the real-world consequences of these policy battles are being felt by millions. Consumer advocates argue that ratepayers across PJM’s vast grid—which stretches from New Jersey to Illinois and includes Washington, D.C.—are already paying billions more on their electricity bills to subsidize the power needs of data centers, some of which haven’t even been built yet. The frustration is mounting because, despite these higher bills, the construction of new power plants to meet surging demand has lagged. The numbers are stark: gas and electric utilities sought or won rate increases totaling more than $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, more than double the amount from the same period a year earlier, according to consumer advocacy group PowerLines.

This tension isn’t confined to the mid-Atlantic. In Northern Colorado, thousands of residents and businesses braced for a different kind of power disruption on January 16. Xcel Energy, the state’s largest energy provider, announced plans to shut off power to at least 9,000 customers in Larimer and Weld counties starting at 8 a.m. The move was part of Xcel’s public safety power shutdown program, initiated in 2024 to reduce the risk of wildfires sparked by downed lines during extreme weather. The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning for the area, forecasting wind gusts of 60 to 70 miles per hour from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Meteorologist Bruno Rodriguez predicted that while Saturday might still be breezy, conditions would improve over the weekend, with higher humidity reducing fire danger.

Unseasonably warm weather, a dwindling snowpack, and persistently dry conditions have made Colorado particularly vulnerable to wildfires—an ever-present threat that’s only grown as the climate warms. Just last month, Xcel’s shutdown affected approximately 115,000 customers across the Front Range, a testament to the scale and frequency of these safety measures.

But for many businesses in Northern Colorado, the shutdown came as a jarring surprise. Despite Xcel Energy’s assurances that it notified customers through multiple channels—social media, direct texts, phone calls, and emails—numerous business owners reported learning about the planned outage less than 24 hours before it was set to begin, or from unofficial sources like Reddit threads and word of mouth. Nicholas Martel, general manager of the Bulldog Pub and Grub in Greeley, expressed his frustration: “Losing power would be detrimental,” he told CPR News, emphasizing the impact on the restaurant’s daily operations and the students it serves from nearby high schools.

Jenn, a general manager at Bruce’s Bar and Restaurant in Severance, echoed the sentiment, saying, “It isn’t even on our radar yet, to be honest. You’d think they would be letting us know as business owners—that’s something we need to know just to operate day to day. We’re not worrying about it because we haven’t been told it’s happening to us.” Clare Burnett, manager at Lima Coffee Roasters in Fort Collins, only heard about the outage from a Reddit thread. “We want customers to have the information they need to stay safe and be prepared. So we just implore our customers to make sure that they update their contact information,” said Xcel spokesperson Andrew Holder, acknowledging the communication challenges and noting that the utility is working with local partners to spread the word.

In Timnath, a manager at Pedro’s Coffee Shop reported that the notification did reach her, but only through a local chamber of commerce contact—not directly from Xcel. The patchwork of notifications left many feeling anxious and unprepared, raising questions about how utilities can better communicate during emergencies.

Back in the nation’s capital, the broader question looms: Can policymakers and industry leaders find a way to balance the surging energy demands of a digital economy—driven by data centers and artificial intelligence—with the imperative to keep electricity reliable, affordable, and safe? The debate is further complicated by the reality that, in many parts of the country, data centers are coming online faster than new power plants can be built and connected to the grid. As the midterm elections approach, the issue of who pays for these upgrades, and how to protect vulnerable communities from price spikes and outages, is shaping up to be a defining political battleground.

For now, Americans from Pennsylvania to Colorado are left to navigate the fallout—whether it’s higher bills, sudden outages, or the uneasy feeling that the nation’s energy infrastructure is being stretched to its limits. The coming months will test not only the resilience of the grid, but also the ability of leaders to forge solutions that keep pace with a changing world.