AI’s Duplicate Demand Problem Spurs Grids to Commitment-First Planning

AI data center developers have been submitting duplicate power requests to multiple utilities while deciding where to build, causing regional electrical demand forecasts to be artificially inflated. Grid operators and regulators are now adopting "commitment-first" planning that requires meaningful commercial evidence of a project before it counts toward long-term transmission planning, filtering out speculative capacity requests from forecasts. This matters because inflated demand projections have driven unnecessary transmission infrastructure investments and influenced capacity pricing in organized markets. Various stakeholders including major technology companies, energy providers, and grid operators are converging on the principle that actual commitments, not announced plans, should shape how electricity grids invest in and plan for large-load projects.