The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure carries a collective grade of C. Comprising 20 infrastructure categories, it’s clear that several areas affecting electrical contractors rate lower. 

The overall energy category, for instance, which received a C-minus grade back in 2021, sits at a D-plus in 2025.

“An increase in electric vehicles (EVs) and a rise in data centers will demand 35 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2030 alone, up from 17 GW in 2022,” according to the report. “This rapid acceleration, compounded by federal and state net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals, means utilities will need to double existing transmission capacity to connect new renewable generation sources.”

Schools also received a D-plus, which was the same as 2021. The report stated that America’s more than 98,000 public pre-K through grade 12 schools serve nearly 50 million students.

“However, these buildings that America’s children rely on are aging,” the report card stated, adding that schools average 49 years old. More significantly, only 10% of school spending in the 2021-22 school year was directed to facilities, “a total that has been low for decades.”

Critical school needs include installation of cooling systems due to increasing temperatures, citing a 2021 study that estimated nearly 14,000 additional schools must add air conditioning.

The broadband category received a C-plus grade and was not graded back in 2021. Eighty percent of U.S. adults have broadband access at home, compared to just 1% in 2000. Broadband access and adoption face challenges, however, as estimates show 10% of households (12.7 million) do not have a broadband subscription, either at home or on a mobile device. Like other categories, extreme weather can and does impact internet reliability.

Perhaps not a surprise, recommendations to raise the U.S. infrastructure grade includes continued—and in some cases increased—investment, which could provide an opportunity for electrical contractors servicing the education, wastewater and broadband sectors.

“Reducing federal and state investment levels, or delaying that support, will escalate the costs and risks of an aging infrastructure system, a scenario American families and businesses cannot afford,” the report said, adding that any investments must be made through the lens of a project’s full life cycle. That should include the growing impact of extreme weather.