A new federal report shows the electric grid across much of the country is strained, requiring thousands of miles of new power lines and billions of dollars in investments.

The National Transmission Needs Study shows that approximately 4,000 miles of power lines will need to be replaced each year for the next few decades.

The federal report notes that most of the country’s transmission infrastructure was built in the 1960s and ’70s and is now reaching the end of its useful life and that currently, “operational challenges of the electric grid are evolving in complexity and magnitude.”

Threats from severe weather, increasing demand for electricity and additional wind and solar generation coming online all compound the need for new power lines nationwide.

“Significant transmission investment is needed to cost-effectively meet future demand through 2050,” the report states.

The federal analysis points to projections that show U.S. electricity consumption rising 16% to 25% by 2034.

Increasing electricity demand is due in large part to the rapid development of data centers needed to support artificial intelligence technologies.

During a visit to Jefferson City on Monday, Department of Energy leaders said they believe operators of forthcoming AI data centers will pay their fair share.

Katie Jereza is the assistant secretary of the federal Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity. She pointed to President Donald Trump’s voluntary ratepayer protection pledge that’s been signed by tech companies, utilities and governors.

“The whole principle is that the data centers will pay for the infrastructure upgrades for their generation, not the families,” Jereza said.

Jereza said the federal government will soon announce funding for what’s called “reconductoring.”

“Which is basically … restringing the lines,” Jereza said. “So you’ve got old conductors, and now we’re going to put in new ones that can carry more electrons through from generation to delivery.”

As technology companies build AI data centers across the state, Missouri lawmakers have passed legislation with new consumer protections in an attempt to ensure the company’s large energy needs don’t increase residents’ utility bills.

“We feel like the transmission element is something that largely gets glossed over, but it’s a huge cost that ultimately is borne by ratepayers,” said Geoff Marke, chief economist with the Missouri Office of Public Counsel, the state’s consumer advocacy department.

He said he’s concerned the cost for the vast infrastructure upgrades needed will fall to the average energy consumers.

“If the proper cost allocation is not in place there, then yes, I do think residential customers will be exposed more than they otherwise would be,” Marke said.

The national study of power lines comes as a group of nine electric transmission utilities, including Ameren and Evergy, are asking federal energy regulators for the right of first refusal to build and operate new multi-state, large-scale power lines. The energy companies say pausing the competitive bidding process will speed up needed grid upgrades.

But Marke said competition reigns in overspending.

“Incumbent utilities have the vast majority of the transmission investment,” Marke said. “Opening that up to requests for proposals or just competitive bidding will just force everybody to be more professional and curb those costs.”

Jezera said whether competition brings the cost of new transmission lines down depends on a variety of factors, including location.

“There are parts of the country where it has worked really well. It has gone faster and reduced the cost, and then in other areas it hasn’t worked as well,” she said.