Pro Risk of darkness looms across Europe and America as power-hungry AI data centers and electric cars drain the grid, decimate factory capacity, and engineer a four-year wait for transformers News By Efosa Udinmwen Published 14 July 2026 Data centers and electric cars overstretch transformer production capacity When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works . (Image credit: Evernew Electrical) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter AI expansion is overwhelming transformer factories across global electricity markets today Power transformer delivery times have stretched from months into several years Aging electricity grids are driving an urgent wave of transformer replacements Electricity grids across Europe and North America are facing a serious equipment shortage that could delay new electricity connections for years, experts have warned. Power transformers, the large devices that regulate voltage before electricity reaches homes and factories, now take considerably longer to manufacture. Orders that once took 6 to 12 months before 2020 can now take between 24 and 48 months to complete. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: What is fueling the surge in demand? The rise of electric vehicles and the shift toward industrial electrification are placing significant new demands on local power grids. Utility companies increasingly compete directly with private developers for the same limited factory capacity, extending wait times for nearly everyone. You may like AI data centers are draining more power than the grid can provide Antimatter plans global AI network with 1,000 micro data centers by 2030 AI boom triggers new battles over electricity infrastructure costs Much of the substation infrastructure built 30 to 50 years ago across the United States and Western Europe now requires urgent replacement. Wind farms and solar installations also require specialized step-up transformers to convert the power they generate before long-distance transmission occurs. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Battery storage projects add further complexity, since each installation requires its own dedicated transformer connected directly to the wider power grid. The most significant new demand originates from data centers built to support artificial intelligence and AI tools , which consume electricity at an extraordinary rate. A single facility of this kind can draw several hundred megawatts, comparable to the electricity consumption of a mid-sized city. What to read next Report claims power demands may halt AI data center advances soon ‘The new battle ground for scaling and protecting margins’: AI servers set to consume more power than every conventional data center by 2027 Shocking emissions stats revealed for 11 planned AI data centers in the US Large technology firms can pay in advance to reserve years of factory output, leaving smaller buyers to wait even longer. The situation is so critical that the largest transformers, rated above 100 MVA and 230 kV, once shipped within 12 to 18 months, can now require well more than 36 months for delivery. Why factories cannot simply build faster The principal constraint lies at the material level, since transformer cores depend on grain-oriented electrical steel that remains in short supply. Alternative steel grades cannot satisfy strict efficiency standards set by the European Union and the United States Department of Ene
Sumber: TechRadar