Strategy & Planning

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.”

“How much remaining stored energy is available at any moment – known as State of Charge (SoC) – is not transparent to grid operators and planners. Achieving greater visibility into SoC is an overlooked means to unlock greater capacity and reliability for the grid at lower cost.”

“If the FCC were to grant NextNav preemptive rights to the 900 MHz spectrum, the resulting need to revert to manual meter reading, coupled with subsequent deployment of replacement solutions, could increase costs for ratepayers by an estimated $100 billion.”

“At WECC, we don’t take an opinion on the best technology or resource to use for generating electricity or any economic or environmental aspect. Our focus is to make sure the West has electricity at all hours of the day and night now and into the future, and that the grid remains stable.”