Bank of America, BAC, has said that America’s grid is 30%-46% ‘beyond its useful life’

America’s power grid, the critical system behind everything from homes and hospitals to factories and electric vehicles, is showing signs of deep strain. A Bank of America Institute analysis finds that surging demand, outdated infrastructure, and widening regional divides have left nearly one-third of transmission lines and almost half of distribution equipment past their intended lifespan. The result is clear: more blackouts, higher costs, and greater vulnerability across the system.

The report highlights just how much of the network is overdue for renewal. In 2024, utilities spent $63 billion—two-thirds of all transmission and distribution budgets—on replacements and upgrades, compared with only $32 billion for new lines and substations. That imbalance underscores a grid struggling to keep pace, not only with routine upkeep but also with the mounting pressure from millions of new devices and users. Failures are becoming more frequent, and data from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation shows reliability slipping below levels Americans enjoyed at the start of the 2000s. As Bank of America bluntly put it: “Grid reliability is worse today than in the early 2000s.”

The surge in demand is being fueled by four powerful trends. Cities in states like California, Massachusetts, and Colorado are banning fossil fuels in new buildings, pushing households toward all-electric heating and appliances. At the same time, data centers—especially those powering AI, cloud computing, and streaming services—are rapidly emerging as “super-consumers” of energy. Globally, they already consume about 2% of electricity, and Bank of America projects annual growth in demand from 15% to 23% by 2030. Manufacturing is also rebounding, with federal and state incentives driving a wave of factory construction. Spending on industrial facilities hit $234 billion in 2024, a 21% jump from the year before and more than double historic averages.