Series
The Utility-AI Leadership Edge Part II: The Utility CIO’s Mandate in the Age of AI
Utility CIOs face a structural shift as advanced intelligence moves into grid operations. The mandate is to govern, scale, and integrate it responsibly—unlocking flexibility, resilience, and efficiency while managing operational, cyber, and regulatory risk.
Managing Data Center Uncertainty Part V — From Uncertainty to Action: A Five-Mechanism Integrated Framework
AI data center demand uncertainty is a governance failure, not a modeling problem. The article proposes five integrated regulatory tools to force transparency, align incentives, unlock flexibility, avoid overbuild, and protect ratepayers while accelerating decarbonization
Managing Data Center Uncertainty Part IV — Flexibility Is the New Capacity: Unlocking 100 GW Without New Generation
The U.S. grid has ~100 GW of hidden capacity that data centers could unlock with tiny, well-timed curtailments. With stronger price signals—geometric demand charges and TOU surcharges—flexibility becomes profitable, enabling rapid AI load growth without new generation.
The Utility-AI Leadership Edge Part I: How Utility COOs Can Harness AI to Deliver Resilience, Reliability, and Growth
AI is transforming utility operations as COOs face soaring electrification, data-center load, extreme weather, and aging infrastructure. The shift from reactive to predictive, AI-driven management is now essential for reliability, resilience, and meeting rising customer expectations.
Managing Data Center Uncertainty Part III — The Utilization Paradox: Scarcity and Waste Inside AI Infrastructure
AI’s energy problem isn’t shortage—it’s misalignment. GPU clusters run at just 60–70% utilization due to data bottlenecks, creating hidden flexibility. With minimal peak curtailment, the grid could integrate ~100 GW of new load. Smarter governance—not more power—is the real solution.
Managing Data Center Uncertainty Part II — Phantom Data Centers: How Strategic Opacity Drives Overbuild
AI developers are inflating power demand with phantom data centers—projects that exist on paper but never connect. Utilities build for the illusion, regulators approve the excess, and ratepayers bear the cost. Increased transparency can break the cycle.