Data Center Load Growth: Solutions for Managing Complexity

In the last 18 months, significant focus has been placed on increasing demand for electricity from data centers, with more demand expected in an increasingly electrified and digitized economy. In response, policymakers, regulators, utilities, and consumer advocates have raised complicated questions: How much demand is there really? Can utilities meet the demand quickly enough and secure local economic development benefits? What does this mean for clean energy goals? Electricity system infrastructure? And, how can we fairly allocate costs among these new customers– and existing ones, who, in many places, are already facing price increases?

Join SEPA for this opportunity to understand recent demand growth projections and how electrification could drive further growth. Panelists will offer a roadmap to proactively navigate these questions and will highlight how different utilities are already starting to find solutions through new business strategies, tariffs, and technology partnerships.

Attendees will learn: 

• What are the implications of data center load growth projections for utilities, regulators, and others?
• What tools are stakeholders using to serve this load while balancing objectives like economic development, affordability, and clean energy?
• What frameworks can stakeholders use to form reasonable near-term decisions in light of the opportunities and uncertainties?