American Electric Power(US:AEP) 3 6 Ke·2025-09-03 00:10Core Viewpoint - The surge in applications for grid access by potential data centers in the U.S. raises concerns about the actual demand for electricity, with many projects potentially never materializing, referred to as "phantom data centers" [1][2]. Group 1: Electricity Demand and Applications - Multiple U.S. utility companies report a significant increase in grid interconnection applications, primarily from data centers, with total demand reaching nearly 400 gigawatts (GW), which is more than half of the peak load in July across 48 states [2]. - The electricity demand from the same potential project may be counted multiple times by different utility companies, leading to inflated figures [3]. - CenterPoint Energy's Houston area currently has an electricity demand of slightly over 22 GW, with total applications reaching approximately 53 GW, of which about 25 GW comes from data centers [5]. Group 2: Utility Companies' Concerns - Many U.S. utility companies are hesitant to take on the risk of overbuilding power plants or transmission lines due to the potential for overhyped AI demand, which could leave other customers bearing the infrastructure costs [4]. - The U.S. electricity prices have risen by 5.5% over the past year, exceeding the inflation rate, indicating a growing concern among utility companies about the sustainability of demand [4]. - American Electric Power has a current system capacity of 37 GW and has signed agreements for about 24 GW of electricity supply, with an additional 190 GW of potential demand waiting in line [4]. Group 3: Market Dynamics and Uncertainties - Data center developers are exploring multiple potential construction sites due to the lengthy and unpredictable process of grid connection approvals [6]. - The uncertainty regarding the time required for power access is a significant challenge for large-scale users and data center developers [6].