Power Plays: How the Battle for Electrons Will Define the 21st Century

Power Plays delivers a sharp and urgent analysis of the looming electricity crisis threatening America's economic future. Jacques Beaudry-Losique, a veteran energy executive, argues that the United States is dangerously unprepared for a surge in electricity demand fueled by AI data centers, cryptocurrency mining, reindustrialization, and the electrification of transportation and heating. Despite these pressures, America's power grid remains outdated, fragmented, and shackled by political and regulatory inertia. Beaudry-Losique depicts the energy landscape as a high-stakes "power game," where utilities, regulators, Big Tech, and policymakers compete for limited access to electrons while neglecting the structural reforms needed to secure the nation's future. Through real-world case studies-most notably the energy crisis in Loudoun County, Virginia-he illustrates how local grid bottlenecks foreshadow national decline. The book blends systems thinking, policy critique, and game theory to map out a pragmatic roadmap: reform permitting, expand transmission and nuclear capacity, and embrace decentralized, resilient microgrids. Blunt, informed, and timely, Power Plays warns that the fight for electricity will determine who leads in technology, security, and prosperity in the 21st century-and whether America will keep its competitive edge or fall behind. Read more