“The real question is what happens after the data is collected. Utilities do not need to be just data collectors. They need to become data orchestrators.”

“By requiring large loads like data centers to pay their share up front, we are preventing those investments from being shifted onto our broader membership.”

“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.”

“Quantum sensing represents a paradigm shift in measurement science. Leveraging principles of quantum mechanics, sensors can provide highly sensitive measurements of physical quantities such as magnetic fields, electric fields, acceleration, temperature, and time.”