Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek’s claims of fractional energy needs as compared to American rivals doused cold water on calls for major electricity investments.

The market correction followed a prescient op-ed from the President of the Electric Power Supply Association, warning of irrational exuberance of utility load forecasts, a concern also raised by OMA’s energy experts. With hundreds of billions of dollars of investment at risk, and national security implications, experts are digging in to the poorly understood matter and some just aren’t sure what to think.

Asked for its thoughts, AI standard bearer ChatGPT stated, “Future AI energy needs will likely grow but at a more measured pace than early predictions suggested, driven by efficiency gains, specialized hardware, and smarter resource management.” 2/3/2025