Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding transparency from private equity giants buying up utility companies, warning that the artificial intelligence boom’s insatiable demand for electricity could leave consumers footing the bill.
The Massachusetts Democrat argues that firms are exploiting a projected 130% surge in data center electricity demand by 2030. She points to Blackstone’s pending acquisition of TXNM Energy, a provider serving 800,000 households in New Mexico and Texas, as a case study of an industry land grab.
Warren’s focus extends beyond consumer costs to systemic financial risk. In a January letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, she flagged a massive shift from equity to opaque debt instruments exceeding $1 trillion to finance AI infrastructure. Her team cautioned that these complex structures pose a regulatory blind spot that threatens financial stability.
This builds on a bipartisan inquiry launched in December 2025 examining how tech hyperscalers like Google and Amazon influence rising utility costs. The investigation signals that scrutiny of the intersection between Big Tech and power grids is gaining traction across the aisle.