Balancing Power Demand, AI Growth, and Industry Resilience

My husband is a bit concerned that our college-age kids won’t have the careers they are dreaming of because artificial intelligence will take over. I tell him that AI won’t be able to take all our jobs any time soon because there isn’t enough electricity for that yet.

We are probably both being a bit dramatic or hyperbolic, but in this exchange lies a few lingering questions. And this is one of the biggest topics of discussion everywhere I go now: the consumer media, the industry conferences and our kitchen tables.

On one hand, I’m thrilled that electric utilities are seeing more demand than ever in some regions; this bodes well for the business. On the other hand, I am concerned that they won’t be able to meet the increasing demand for electricity, thereby threatening the security, resiliency and reliability of power. But maybe this is one way we balance how fast our future is coming.

In our November issue, Managing Editor Jeff Postelwait wrote on rising electricity prices. Because there had been such a recent furor over new data centers causing rates to rise, he decided to dig in and find out if this was completely true and to take a look at the bigger picture. Rate setting is complicated in our industry (at least I think so), so the answer, to me, is simply: it’s not that simple. Jeff asked this question in that story: Could AI hit a wall? Improvements in hardware efficiency can cut AI’s power demand, and researchers expect these improvements to continue to net savings in electricity consumption, but the overarching expansion of AI activity means overall demand is likely to continue — perhaps even resulting in the industry hitting a predicted “wall” imposed by power generation limits, he wrote.

Working on that report led Jeff to write our cover story for this month: “Could AI Find Its Limit in the Power Grid?” This turned into a good overview of how utilities are working with big tech to figure all this out (or not). We know AI’s growing energy appetite is reshaping load forecasts and challenging every stakeholder in the industry. And big tech and utilities operate on different timelines, which slows down everything. I don’t want to say “time will tell” in answering anything, as I have confidence in this industry and I know we will make a way forward. It is a challenge, for sure, but we have some bright and energetic people working on this. Just come to any industry conference!

Rodeo Wrap-Up

We also celebrate another segment of our industry this month with our coverage of the 41^st International Lineman’s Rodeo that happened in mid-October. This is one year, thank goodness, that we didn’t have teams out on hurricane duty. It was a record-setting year for attendance, and we enjoyed seeing even more lineworkers bring their families, from babies to grandparents, to cheer them on in the competition. As usual you can catch our photos from the safety conference, exhibition and competition at tdworld.com/electric-utility-operations.

Despite forecasts of rain, clear skies and early morning fog set the stage for competition day, where nearly 300 teams and more than 350 apprentices competed. Duke Energy and Sturgeon Electric/IBEW Local 47 teams claimed top honors in the journeyman divisions, while Flint Energies’ Hunter Walton swept the apprentice category. See Field Editor Amy Fischbach’s “2025 Rodeo Rewind” story, along with her story “Living and Loving the Line Life.” 

Structures from ASCE

One of my favorite supplements of the year is included in this issue: the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Structures supplement. It includes four in-depth technical articles that have been presented in sessions at the ASCE Electrical Transmission & Substation Structures Conference, and the content is core to the T&D World audience.  We published our first “lines and structures” supplement in 2011, and in 2015, ASCE partnered with us to provide the articles and distribute it at the ETS conference every three years. This year you will see articles on maintaining safety while unlacing lattice towers during repair and strengthening efforts; on standards contributed by Duke Energy; the construction of the Grain Belt Express; and ensuring quality foundations.

Every issue we put together reminds me how much this industry is built on people: those solving tomorrow’s grid challenges and those climbing poles in the early morning fog. Technology will keep evolving, but our resilience, ingenuity, and shared purpose remain constant. So while we may not have all the answers about AI or future demand, I’m confident that, as always, this community will figure it out together.