Survey: Flexible Load Management Moves From Emergency Tool to Core Operational Strategy

A new survey of U.S. energy professionals suggests that load flexibility and demand response (DR) programs are becoming central components of grid management as large-load growth accelerates. The findings, published in OBM’s “State of Flexible Load Management” report, reflect responses from 105 industry participants working across power supply, demand-side management, and grid planning roles.

Data Centers and Electrification Reshape Operational Priorities

Respondents point to rapid expansion in data centers, AI computing, and commercial electrification as drivers shifting capacity and reliability concerns from long-range planning to daily operations. Regulatory uncertainty (37%) and transmission congestion (36%) were cited as major barriers to long-term investment and load integration efforts.

Nearly nine in ten respondents (86%) said flexible load management is “extremely” or “very” important to their business today, indicating that flexibility is now viewed as a standard operational requirement rather than a last-resort measure. Two-thirds (64%) reported that data center growth is accelerating flexible load initiatives that had previously been considered farther out on strategic roadmaps.

Demand Response Funding Expected to Increase

Survey data suggests that utilities and load operators expect to expand DR activities and budgets in the near term. Sixty-three percent of respondents anticipate DR program funding to grow by 50% or more over the next three years.

Data centers ranked as the top target for future DR enrollment (63%), followed by EV charging and fleet depots (36%), advanced manufacturing (33%), and water and wastewater facilities (32%). While data centers remain among the fastest-growing sources of load, 57% of respondents said onsite generation from these facilities will play an important role in supporting grid stability over the next five years—indicating a shift in perception of data centers as potential grid assets.

Cost, Complexity and Policy Challenges Slow Adoption

Despite broad support for flexibility strategies, implementation challenges remain. Seventy percent of respondents cited cost and technology complexity as the primary barrier, followed by regulatory and incentive uncertainty (48%) and data integration or staffing constraints (33%).

Even with these hurdles, 82% said they are optimistic about the sector’s ability to adapt to increasing large-load demand. Half of respondents are exploring AI-based forecasting tools to improve dispatch decisions, while onsite generation ranked as the most important strategy for making flexible load management viable at scale.

Looking ahead to 2030, 44% of respondents expect at least half of their energy portfolio to consist of flexible or controllable loads, underscoring the potential for load management to function as a major grid resource.

Context: Flexibility as Grid Infrastructure

Industry officials say the survey results demonstrate how flexibility is becoming embedded in grid planning and operations in the same way that generation and transmission planning have traditionally shaped reliability. The trend is emerging as utilities weigh the long-term implications of energy-intensive computing, electrification of transport and industry, and accelerating interconnection requests.