Artificial intelligence may be the most transformative technology of our time, but it’s also one of the hungriest. The world’s biggest tech companies are not unknown to the fact that the true cost of powering AI isn’t just financial, it’s electrical.
As data centres multiply to feed the growing appetite for generative AI, US grid operators are issuing urgent pleas to Big Tech: ease up on your energy demands before the lights go out.
Behind the glossy AI demos and trillion-dollar valuations, there’s a quiet panic brewing over the one thing that could stall the AI revolution, a shortage of power. And Big Tech knows it.
That’s why the industry’s ongoing big hiring spree isn’t for machine learning engineers or data scientists. It’s for energy experts.
Big Tech hiring spree for energy experts
Over the past two years, technology giants have been racing to recruit specialists who can help them manage, source, and even produce their own power.
Data compiled by Workforce.ai for CNBC shows energy-related hiring surged by 34 per cent in 2024, nearly matching the previous year’s pace and sitting a solid 30 per cent higher than pre-AI levels in 2022, when ChatGPT first sparked the generative AI boom.
Microsoft has emerged as one of the biggest players in this quiet energy arms race. Since 2022, the company has added more than 570 hires with expertise in energy markets and infrastructure.
Among them is Betsy Beck, who joined as director of energy markets after holding a similar role at Google. Microsoft also appointed former General Electric CFO Carolina Dybeck Happe as its chief operating officer in 2024, a move that hinted early on at its long-term energy ambitions.
Not to be outdone, Amazon has brought on around 605 energy-related hires, including those at AWS, making it the leader of the pack. Its vast network of data centres already consumes more electricity annually than some small nations, and the company is now exploring on-site generation solutions to manage that load.
Google, meanwhile, has been playing catch-up in both AI and energy infrastructure. But it’s closing the gap fast.
The company has hired 340 energy experts since 2022, including Eric Schubert, a veteran of BP who now advises on regulatory affairs, and Tyler Norris, a researcher from Duke University now leading energy market innovation.
Alphabet’s market cap recently surged past Apple’s for the first time since 2019, and its expanding energy strategy could be part of the reason.
In other words, the AI boom isn’t just reshaping the software industry. It’s transforming the energy sector too.
US grid operators to Big Tech
For the people who keep America’s lights on, AI’s energy demands have become impossible to ignore. Grid operators across the US are now urging Microsoft, Amazon, and Google to rethink their approach.
Some are proposing that companies adopt a “bring your own generation” model — pairing new data centres with dedicated energy sources, such as renewable farms, natural gas plants, or even small nuclear reactors. That way, Big Tech can expand its AI footprint without destabilising public power networks.
Others are suggesting conditional grid connections, where data centres would be allowed to plug in early, but only if they agree to temporary disconnections during periods of extreme demand. The idea has sparked controversy, with critics arguing that cutting off data centres, even briefly, could cripple cloud services.
Still, regulators say the current trajectory is unsustainable. AI data centres already consume staggering amounts of energy, and as models grow larger and more complex, their power draw is only increasing.
