Oct 24, 2026 12:00pm - 1:15pm
After nearly two decades of flat U.S. electricity demand, AI and hyperscaler data centers are driving the fastest load growth in a generation. That growth is running into a grid, supply chain, and regulatory system built for a slower era. This fireside chat brings together leaders from across the energy value chain to discuss what's really holding back the build-out, who's solving it, and where the next decade of opportunity lies for operators, investors, and business leaders. Part I — The Current Problem: AI Meets a Grid Built for Another Era * The load shock: How AI is reshaping demand forecasts, and how much of the projected growth is real versus speculative * Why the grid didn't see it coming: Aging infrastructure, decade-long transmission timelines, and planning models built around flat demand * Anatomy of a data center power deal: Who supplies the power, what generates it, and how deals get structured * The binding constraints: Interconnection queues, shortages of transformers and turbines, permitting, and skilled labor Part II — The Response: Where Solutions and Opportunities Are Emerging * Technology: The realistic generation mix for this decade (gas, renewables plus storage, nuclear restarts and small modular reactors, geothermal). Also on-site "behind-the-meter" power, technologies that squeeze more capacity from the existing grid, and data centers that can flex their load. * Policy and market design: Special tariffs for large loads, rules for siting data centers at power plants, interconnection reform, and the central question: who pays? How do you protect other ratepayers? * Capital: A demand shock for capital. How do you finance 30-year infrastructure for a technology on a 3-year cycle? Where do investors see returns, and where do they see risks like overbuilding and stranded assets? * Closing lightning round: Where would you build a career or deploy capital today? Lunch is provided
