Power outages drive supply chain worries: report

Economic volatility (51%), tariff increases and trade policy changes (48%), geopolitical instability and cybersecurity threats (38% each), and energy reliability and cost (33%) were the leading concerns cited by executives as potential 2026 operational disruptions, according to a survey. 

Additionally, the survey also highlighted AI adoption and the energy pressure it places on supply chains. AI requires large amounts of energy because training models involve “thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs) running continuously for months, leading to high electricity consumption,” according to an April report from Penn State University’s Institute of Energy and the Environment. 

While data centers used 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023, that number could triple by 2028, according to Mahmut Kandemir, a professor of computer science and engineering at Penn State, the report’s author.  In July, the U.S. Department of Energy said power outages could increase by 100 times by 2030 if suppliers don’t add capacity during peak demand periods. It also warned that AI demand from data centers is accelerating the strain.

Read more at Utility Dive