Perspective

Respondents describe an industry grappling with accelerating load growth, infrastructure vulnerability, and policy uncertainty – even as they continue to work toward clean energy goals and distributed resource integration.

“All these resources coming on have a lower accredited capacity than traditional resources. You have to make sure you’re meeting that supply-demand balance in an already tight market. That’s what we’re focused on. We’re also focused on getting more transmission built.”

“Regulatory incentives focusing on improving overall system utilization create a net downward pressure on rates, just as prioritizing rate impact benefits over other benefit-cost tests helps lower rates more readily than do traditional avoided capital cost tests.”

“Leading utilities’ resiliency programs are also typically ahead in their digital journeys by developing geospatial asset registries, accessible outage management systems, and digitized inspection data.”

“The race for skilled resources is more competitive than ever as the existing workforce ages and labor markets wane, making enterprise alignment on talent acquisition strategies, career pathways, and succession planning critical.”

“If utilities are to become fast followers in AI adoption, they should build a robust ecosystem that strategically integrates AI and other new technologies into their operations and across their networks.”

“Utilities should develop incentive programs encouraging data centers to adopt energy-efficient cooling technologies like liquid cooling and direct-to-chip cooling.”

“Under an energy scarcity regime, such as the U.S. is entering due to projected load growth, energy efficiency and load shifting must be reconsidered as critical energy resources.”

“To mitigate these risks, utilities must identify, prioritize, and protect key systems and networks by upgrading legacy infrastructure and segmenting networks to reduce the spread of cyber threats.”

“By prioritizing no-regrets AI applications to support enhanced customer service, employee operations, and regulatory activities, utilities can be better prepared to navigate the complexities of the evolving industry and drive a reliable, affordable, and resilient energy future.”