Who Pays for the Grid’s New Era of Growth?

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

As a professional involved in electricity delivery, the T&D World Podcast and tdworld.com is your definitive source for breaking news, industry updates, and more. We've got you covered from transmission to distribution and everything that affects the power grid. And now, on to today's episode.

Nikki Chandler (0:22)

Welcome to this episode of T&D World Live. You all know that our power system is entering a new era, one really kind of like never before. And we're hearing it all the time. Electric utilities are facing that growing demand from AI data centers, electrification, and other large loads. You know, really all at a time when the grid needs a significant investment to replace aging infrastructure and improve reliability, and I'll even add to that resilience.

But there's another side to that equation, and that's that customers are already feeling the pressure of rising energy bills. And that's been another big topic of conversation at our events this year, is the affordability factor here. And the utilities that I've talked to are very concerned, and they're very cognizant of it in doing what they can. But I'm really interested to talk to you guys about this today. So how do utilities build the grid needed for future growth without placing unsustainable costs on customers' consumers? And how do they balance affordability with reliability, modernization, and economic opportunities associated with those new large loads? I'm Nikki Chandler. I'm editorial director with T&D World. And today we're talking about, like I said, the affordability challenge behind America's AI boom with two leaders from EUI.

Stephanie Cutter, EY Global and America's Power and Utilities Leader. And we have Greg Guthridge, EY Global Power and Utilities Customer Experience Transformation Leader. And do you guys, do you still say Ernst & Young, or you just pretty much go by EY now?

How does that work?

Stephanie Cutter (2:12)

We've transitioned to EY.

Nikki Chandler (2:14)

Okay, great. Kind of like us. We used to be Transmission and Distribution World, and now we're T&D World.

So thank you so much for joining us. And I'd really like to start it out by having you tell us a little bit about yourselves and your background. So I'm gonna go ahead and start with Stephanie, if you don't mind.

Stephanie Cutter (2:32)

Sure, absolutely. Thank you very much for having us. So I do lead our power and utility sector across the Americas and globally. And so through that, my focus is on helping our utility and broader power leadership teams focus on their most strategic issues. A lot of that, particularly in today's world, has to do with how the sector is investing for growth while balancing that against affordability and reliability.

Okay.

Nikki Chandler (3:00)

Greg, what about you?

Greg Guthridge (3:02)

Hi, everybody.

Good afternoon. In my role, I'm really focusing on the kind of the confluence of the end customer experience with the utility. And that includes their technical technology experience, their energy experience, their preference for sustainability, and all things in between. So really focusing on how that customer experience and the customer expectations are really evolving and shifting as we move forward.

Nikki Chandler (3:36)

Yeah, thank you so much. So I think this is going to be a great conversation based on your backgrounds and what you guys specialize in over there at EY. So Stephanie, let's start with you. And I really want to start out by looking at the broadest level here. Affordability has always been part of the utility conversation, but it seems to be taking on a much greater strategic importance as utilities face the simultaneous pressure to invest in the grid, accommodate new demand, and maintain that reliability. And then even I'll throw in the sustainability aspect of that as well. That's important too.

So, can you tell us a little bit about what utilities are hearing from their customers right now? And how is that, if at all, changing the way they think about their investment?

Stephanie Cutter (4:25)

The first thing that I'd start with is, I do think that the conditions that the sector and the industry are facing have dramatically changed over the last few years. And that's why affordability is becoming such a central part of the conversation.

For years, we argued about whether the demand was real. I think that question has absolutely been settled in 2026 We know that the demand is real. We have signed contracts. We have capital that's been very clearly committed. Construction is underway. So now that affordability conversation has changed shape given the fact that there's much more confidence in the demand showing up in certain places. So now the question is less about whether things need to be built. It's much more about who's going to build them, where, and ultimately, if there is risk to the load not showing up at some point, who's going to bear that risk?