By Laila Kearney

(Reuters) -Rising power demand driven by data centers is shrinking U.S. electricity supplies and increasing the risk of energy shortages if extreme winter weather strikes this year, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said on Tuesday.

The swift proliferation of data centers in the U.S., along with the electrification of buildings and transportation, is driving up electricity use across the country faster than new power supplies are added to the grid. That dwindling supply can raise the possibility of power shortfalls in extremely cold weather, when energy-intensive heating systems increase overall demand.

After multiple years of flat or near-flat growth, peak demand has grown by about 20 gigawatts, or 2.5%, from last year, NERC officials said in their an

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