Pipeline giants Energy Transfer LP and Williams Cos. are currently negotiating with data center operators to build pipelines directly to their facilities to supply energy to on-site power plants as the centers prepare for a boom in artificial intelligence.

Utilities are bracing for the biggest surge in electricity demand in a generation, driven by artificial intelligence data centers, computer chip factories and a growing number of electric vehicles. Some of that extra power will come from wind and solar. But a significant portion will come from gas-fired power plants. And companies that run data centers want to make sure the gas is available — and available quickly — when they need it.

Energy Transfer is in talks with data centers of varying sizes, many of which want to generate power on-site, Co-Chief Executive Officer Marshall McCrea said in a conference call with analysts on Wednesday afternoon.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for us,” McCrea said.

Energy Transfer is seeking expansions at already connected plants and is in talks to supply power plants with new connections, according to a company presentation.

Rival pipeline company Williams is also in talks about supplying gas directly to data centers, particularly in the southeastern United States and the Mid-Atlantic region.

“We are frankly quite overwhelmed with the volume of requests we are processing and trying to understand these projects,” Chief Executive Officer Alan Armstrong said this week on a conference call with analysts.

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