Is Meeting Data Center Demand an Opportunity to Redefine the Future for Utilities?

Demand from data centers and AI represents the most significant load growth challenge for the utility sector in a generation. However, this challenge isn't just about adding capacity but is instead about fundamentally rethinking how, when, and where that power is generated and delivered. Ensuring reliable, affordable power for all will create transformative opportunities across the sector.

Join EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor for an opening address that will detail how and why meeting this demand isn't just about energy efficiency, but a critical opportunity for utilities to shape their own future and enhance system resilience. His remarks will highlight how utilities can move beyond traditional planning to address data centers' unique needs and what it means to lead the conversation around distributed generation and new energy sources. Attendees will learn strategies to establish the next-generation energy paradigms that will help define the path forward.

The Next Evolution of AI: Defining the Future of Utility Forecasting

Unprecedented demand from data centers and AI mean that forecasting is no longer about extrapolating historical trends but instead about anticipating behaviors and needs, driven by DERs, extreme weather, and new load profiles. This panel will explore how leaders from across the space are doing so, as they move beyond proof-of-concept and discuss production-ready models that fundamentally redefine grid planning and operations.

Panelists will outline what it means to leverage advanced AI to simulate thousands of real-world future grid states, enabling utilities to stress-test resource portfolios and optimize interconnection queues by accurately forecasting unknown, high-growth load types. The discussion will also address the necessary data standards and required governance to ensure AI-driven forecasting is not only accurate but also understandable.

Can Data Centers Power Community Prosperity?
The arrival of a data center is often framed through a lens of scarcity, focusing on grid strain, land use, and resource consumption. This opening keynote challenges that narrative by exploring how utilities can reposition data center integration as a once-in-a-generation catalyst for local economic resilience and shared progress. By shifting the perspective from managing load to anchoring opportunity, utilities can demonstrate how these facilities serve as the backbone of a modern, thriving community.

The Power of the Positive: Repositioning the Impact of Data Centers on Communities
Following the keynote, our opening panel explores the importance of proactive communication. We will discuss how to not only avoid negative headlines but turn them into proof points for community value. Panelists will detail the tangible benefits of data center projects—from subsidizing residential infrastructure to anchoring high-tech job ecosystems. They will also highlight the risks of losing control of the narrative, where silence from the utility allows community assumptions to drive the conversation. This session provides utility executives with the leadership strategies needed to communicate long-term tax base growth and shared value to community stakeholders.