Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap

AI gets blamed for a lot these days—including higher power prices. But a new Lawrence Berkeley and Brattle Group study found the opposite: between 2019 and 2024, states with rising electricity demand often saw lower prices. More demand spreads fixed grid costs over more megawatt-hours, while the real price drivers to date have been aging infrastructure, resilience investments and material inflation.

As investors and policymakers reframe overt climate mandates into talk of energy independence—and venture capital chases the next AI model—there’s an opening. The same exuberant build-out of AI infrastructure can accelerate the shift to a modern grid that supports more flexibility, and is increasingly powered by renewables and advanced storage.

Our aging grid needs investment, so prices will likely continue to climb in the years to come. But data centers, forecast engines and optimization tools can actually be a big part of the solution to rising retail electricity prices.

We continue to look for startups that could generate huge returns by meeting this rise in demand with the right tools that help upgrade our physical infrastructure better, faster and cheaper—while allowing for increased demand to be spread across rate payers (at the right times) that help keep rising electricity prices in check.