AI is pushing US power use into record territory while the grid struggles to keep pace.
Washington, D.C., Oct. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Something is shifting on America's power grid. This year, businesses are expected to use more electricity than every home in the country combined. The commercial sector, which includes data centers, is on track to use 1,549 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Homes are expected to use 1,541 billion.
Last year, it was the other way around.
AI data centers are a big reason why. In a new free presentation, tech analyst James Altucher shows just how power-hungry they've become. A single large data center, he says, can use "the same amount of power for all of Indianapolis."
**Three Years. Three Records.**
The shift is part of a bigger surge.
America used more power in 2025 than ever before: 4,195 billion kilowatt-hours. The EIA expects that record to fall in 2026, at 4,288 billion, and again in 2027, at 4,356 billion.
AI data centers are a big part of the reason, along with more homes and businesses switching to electric power.
It's not just that America needs more power. It's how fast computing is becoming part of the country's physical backbone.
**AI Isn't Just Software Anymore**
For a long time, AI was easy to picture as pure software. You type a question into a box, and an answer pops out.
But behind that box is a giant industrial machine: chips, data centers, power lines, networking gear, and a staggering amount of electricity.
The EIA forecast drags that hidden machine into the light. The more AI spreads into everyday life, the bigger the machine behind it has to get.
**Why Altucher Keeps Watching Musk**
While the big data-center builders fight for power on the ground, Altucher says Elon Musk is playing a different game entirely.
"SpaceX isn't a rocket company," Altucher says. "It's a trojan horse hiding the most powerful AI blueprint ever conceived by mankind."
Musk already has the rockets. He has already sent about 10,000 satellites into space, and he has his own AI operations. Altucher sees them as pieces of one plan.
His presentation centers on a SpaceX filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that lays out plans for a million satellites. Altucher says these aren't internet satellites. "These are full-blown AI data centers," he says. "The future of AI isn't on Earth anymore. It's in orbit."
Running AI in space comes with its own brutal engineering problems. But it also means near-endless sunlight, and an escape from the land fights, permit battles and grid waitlists that hold back data centers on the ground.
**The Part of AI Most People Never See**
A space network would need more than rockets, satellites and chips. All those machines have to talk to each other and move huge amounts of data, fast.
Altucher's presentation digs into a small outside supplier he believes handles that job. "Elon is putting up new satellites four times per week," he says. "And this company's chips ride up with every one of them."
Record power demand shows that AI isn't just an app on your phone anymore. It's becoming one of the biggest physical buildouts in history. And Altucher believes it's still early. "This time, we're still standing on the ground floor," he says.
**About This Presentation**
Elon Musk built PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX into industry giants. James Altucher believes AI is next. In this free presentation, he explains how he thinks Musk plans to do it, what the SpaceX filing shows and where he believes everyday investors should be looking. The presentation is available on demand, free of charge.
**About James Altucher**
James Altucher is a Wall Street veteran who has spent more than 30 years working where technology and money meet. He has managed hedge funds, designed his own AI-driven trading algorithms and raised capital for venture investments. He has been featured on CNBC, Fox Business and in The Wall Street Journal. He also hosts The James Altucher Show podcast, where he has interviewed some of the biggest names in finance and business.