The Bank of America Institute has published a report, Powering the Revolution, that projects a continued need for significant investment in electricity generation and related distribution infrastructure. That investment, the study argues, will be “a headwind to consumer utility bills for the foreseeable future.”

The report shows that electricity demand is increasingly putting pressure on supply. Much of the outrage from consumers who have seen significant increases in their electric bills has been directed at investor-owned utilities that some have accused of price-gouging.

The Bank of America report shows that soaring demand from data center growth, artificial intelligence applications and federal and state efforts at implementing broad electrification strategies in transportation and building heating are having the cumulative effect of turbocharging the need for new generating capacity.

What is being described is a building electricity-inflation that may be very difficult to control without the use of fossil fuels. All of this new demand is also leading inevitably to large investments in electricity grid delivery and transmission capabilities, capital expense that utilities will pass on to consumers.

Bottom line, the report notes that “electricity demand is actually increasing, pressuring supply, and it may continue to do so for a long time.”