Strategy & Planning

“What has changed is that it is no longer sufficient to plan exclusively from the top down. We must now plan from both the top down and the bottom up.”

“Our stance remains focused on reducing unnecessary work to streamline the process. Shorter schedules generally lead to lower costs, which ultimately benefits ratepayers through the broader market.”

“We try to strike a balance by looking for investments that bring multiple benefits, asking if an expenditure adds resiliency and reliability while also enabling a cleaner local environment.”

The electric utility industry has moved past the era of predictable one percent growth. As we reach the middle of 2026, however, the question is no longer whether new load is coming, but rather how providers can build fast enough to meet the demand. This month, we spoke with eight leaders currently navigating unprecedented growth challenges to discuss the strategies and infrastructure we all need to modernize the grid.

While meeting today’s load growth is an incredibly big ask, we have the right technology and talent to get it done. By working together with a proactive, unified strategy, we can build the modernized grid this country actually needs.

“More than 140 years later, the industry is still working together to solve problems and share knowledge. It still needs a place where operators, engineers, planners, leaders, and stewards of the grid can come together.”

“But if affordability is the defining issue in energy policy today, we must recognize that it is not simply about temporary bill credits or short-term assistance programs. Affordability is fundamentally a system design question.”

“AI can enhance optimizing water treatment, monitoring system performance, and improving customer engagement. For instance, early warnings could be established to flag affordability challenges of high-risk customers, thereby spotting trends before they are shut off.”

“New strategies are emerging that provide temporary or long-term pathways for DERs to avoid grid constraints that can lead to costly and time-intensive utility infrastructure upgrades. These strategies typically fall under the banner of flexible interconnection or flexible connection.”

“What is often missing is not data, but memory. Utilities generate enormous amounts of operational information during major events, yet much of the reasoning behind decisions on what was tried, what worked, and what failed, fades quickly once the event passes.”