Making Sense AI, policy and the future of US power trading
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Nov 18, 2025 Chris Wu, Head of U.S. Power Trading at J.P. Morgan, delves into the seismic shifts occurring in the U.S. power market driven by AI data centers. He discusses how skyrocketing electricity demand from these centers is reshaping trading dynamics, while contrasting this surge with past trends linked to electric vehicles. Wu also addresses the slowdown in renewable energy projects, the pivotal roles of natural gas and nuclear power, and the critical need for enhanced energy infrastructure and transmission reforms in light of new market entrants.
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AI Demand Reshapes Power Prices
- AI data centers have driven a rapid, unprecedented rise in U.S. power prices and market focus since mid-2024.
- Market leaders are already acting on expected load growth by consolidating generation and making large deals.
Data Center Growth Outpaces EV Demand
- Data center compute requirements scale exponentially between model generations, unlike finite EV adoption.
- This creates a fundamentally different and potentially much larger long-term load profile for power markets.
Renewables Will Persist But Slow Down
- Renewables remain core to decarbonization commitments but will face slower build rates near-term without federal subsidies.
- Expect project costs to rise 25–50% and development to re-evaluate economics over the next 2–3 years.