Elizabeth Warren Says Private Equity Wants To Profit From AI—And Stick Consumers With The Bill

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has warned that private equity firms are positioning themselves to profit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom by acquiring utility companies and passing the costs of grid upgrades needed to support data centers onto consumers through higher electricity bills.

“Private equity is trying to buy up the utility companies that will be responsible for making those (grid) upgrades. Why? Because they want to own the utilities so they can push the cost of upgrading the grid for those data centers onto you, the consumer,” Warren said in a post on X Thursday.

Warren said a growing share of the country’s rising electricity consumption is being driven by data centers, which require massive amounts of power to train and operate advanced models.

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According to the International Energy Agency, electricity consumption from data centers worldwide is expected to more than double from current levels by 2030. In the U.S., data centers are expected to drive nearly half of electricity demand growth this decade and consume more power than several major industrial sectors combined.

The senator argued that the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure will require costly upgrades to the U.S. power grid, creating new opportunities for investors seeking exposure to the sector.