Butler, July 2 -- WASHINGTON - The check engine light is on for the American power grid, and Calvin Butler is not sure anyone wants to look under the hood.

the grid is not growing fast enough to absorb what artificial intelligence wants from it.

"The warning lights are on," Butler said. "It's like you're driving your car, the check engine light is on, and you just don't want to take it into the shop."

The specific threat Butler is pointing to is the PJM Interconnection, the wholesale electricity market serving roughly 65 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia. At its December 2025 capacity auction, PJM recorded a supply shortfall of 6.5 gigawatts - a gap roughly equivalent to the output of six large nuclear reacto...