America's demand for electricity is soaring, driven by the energy needs of artificial-intelligence data centers. This surge, coupled with significant challenges in building out the power grid, is dramatically increasing costs.

Several factors contribute to the rising expenses, including substantial equipment backlogs, lengthy permitting delays, and tariffs. Furthermore, the time it takes to connect new generation facilities to the grid has extended to years. These issues are impacting the construction costs for all types of power plants.

According to Lazard's annual report, the cost of building natural-gas plants and large-scale solar and wind projects has risen by over 10% in the past year. This escalating cost of electricity generation exacerbates the problem for consumers who are already grappling with increasing electricity bills.