AI Needs So Much Energy It's Distorting US Power for Homes

bloomberg.com

12 pointsmfiguiere3 comments

Is there even one mention of Bitcoin or other blockchain activity? Its demand on the grid was of interest before FTX, and in 2025 it looks to be back with a vengeance. AI is larger than blockchain, it appears, but they add together.

Being a serious business publication, you might think that Bloomberg would tell you about ways to protect your own home or business from problems caused by lower-quality power. (Short of buying out your local grid operator, or going totally off-grid.)

Nope. The article is a pure "click and feel helpless" FUD-fest.

If that doesn't appeal - then there are a pretty wide variety of surge suppressors, power line conditioners, isolation transformers, etc. that one could buy.

And probably a fair number of EE's here on HN, who might (please?) chime in on what - if anything - a reasonable consumer should do about this...

Of the components you list, power conditioners appear to be the one that addresses waveforms.

Bloomberg could indeed have said "your quality of service is going down and your repair costs are going up, so spend the cash on remediation cuz the power company sure isn't." Not sure why their editors don't take that stance.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com