The Northwest will be at risk of power shortages totaling hundreds of hours a year by 2034 unless more energy generating resources are built, according to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council.

Even if development quickens, the Northwest will risk some outages as new data centers, cryptocurrency miners and other industries draw energy from a grid reliant on sporadic wind and solar power, according to the council.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sanctions the council to assure reliable service in the Western Interconnection, which covers 14 Western states, two Canadian provinces and Baja California in Mexico.

The council warned of future power shortages in an assessment released Dec. 3. “The supply of electricity is not growing fast enough to keep up with demand growth,” the assessment reads.

The council predicts electricity demand will grow 20% by 2034, double its forecast two years ago. Meanwhile, power providers plan to add large amounts of wind and solar power and retire coal and natural gas plants.

The electricity supply will be less predictable as demand grows. “As uncertainty increases, risk increases,” according to the assessment.

Oregon, Washington, Idaho and northernmost California are projected to be more at risk of future power outages than anywhere else in the Western Interconnection, according to the assessment.

If the power supply grows at its recent pace, the Northwest will be at risk of power shortages for 787 hours a year by 2034, the council projects.

Even in a best-case scenario, the region will be at risk for 82 hours, up from three hours in 2025. The best-case scenario depends on 95% of planned power plants being built on schedule. About half are finished on time now.

Increasing costs, supply-chain problems, siting controversies and a backlog of requests to connect to transmission lines have the potential to further delay or cancel projects, according to the assessment.

“Very few people think we’ll reach 95% completion. Even then, it’s not enough,” Northwest Public Power Association Executive Director Kurt Miller said.

Washington law requires utilities to phase out natural gas-generated electricity by 2045. Utilities may have to increase natural gas generation to meet demand, Washington Public Utility Districts Association policy director Nicolas Garcia said.

“We just don’t see a lot of other options available,” he said. “We’re already experiencing, starting five years ago, events where we came close to power shortages or instituting a rolling blackout.”

Northwest Gas Association CEO Dan Kirschner said the council assessment affirms other energy outlooks.

“The alarm bell has been clanging for a number of years, and it’s getting louder,” he said. “We’re seeing (the council) say, ‘We have a shortage here folks that’s actually pretty significant.’”