As electricity demand accelerates from AI data centers, electrification and other large loads, utilities are facing a difficult question: How can they invest in the infrastructure needed for future growth while keeping electricity affordable for customers? In this episode of T&D World Live, we speak with Stephanie Cutter, EY Global and Americas Power and Utilities Leader, and Greg Guthridge, EY Global Power and Utilities Customer Experience Transformation Leader, about the growing tension between grid investment, reliability, affordability and customer expectations.

Cutter explains that the affordability conversation has changed as utilities have gained greater confidence that demand growth is real. Rather than debating whether new load will materialize, utilities increasingly have to determine where infrastructure should be built, who should pay for it and who should bear the risk if expected load does not materialize. Affordability, she says, is moving earlier in the investment process and becoming a factor in determining whether projects move forward.

Guthridge discusses the customer side of the equation, pointing to EY research showing significant financial pressure among residential customers. He says 20% of North American retail customers are experiencing energy poverty, while another nearly 20% are considered energy vulnerable and could fall into financial difficulty after another bill shock. At the same time, utilities must support increasingly sophisticated energy needs from large commercial and industrial customers, including data centers and other electrification-driven loads.

The conversation also examines how well customers understand their electricity bills. Guthridge says more than 60% of customers either do not read their bills or do not understand them, creating an opportunity for utilities to improve communication and provide customers with more control over their energy use. He argues that utilities need to move beyond traditional billing and communication approaches toward digital tools that allow customers to better understand and manage their energy experience.

Cost allocation is another major issue. As the scale of new infrastructure investments grows, utilities, regulators and other stakeholders are increasingly focused on determining which customers benefit from investments, who contributes capital and who ultimately pays. The discussion also considers what happens if a large load does not materialize after infrastructure has been built, raising questions about how that risk should be allocated.

Cutter notes that the scale and speed of new load growth are creating new challenges for grid planning. She cites an estimated potential gap of 50 to 80 GW between U.S. demand forecasts and available grid supply by 2030, emphasizing the need for disciplined capital allocation and investment decisions. Guthridge adds that many utilities historically did not need specialized operational teams to manage large-load development at today's scale, leaving some organizations to build up their engineering, digital and workflow capabilities as demand accelerates.

Interestingly, the guests emphasize that AI is both part of the problem and potentially part of the solution. While AI-driven data centers are contributing to electricity demand and the need for new infrastructure, AI and other digital technologies could also help utilities improve grid planning, accelerate project intake and delivery, and manage increasingly complex infrastructure projects.

The discussion then turns to how utilities may need to rethink their relationships with large-load customers. Guthridge points to modernizing customer systems and CRM capabilities, developing stronger end-to-end workflow management and potentially reconsidering utility business models. Cutter adds that utilities may need to change how they qualify loads, make commitments, structure customer relationships and incorporate flexibility into contracts and operations.

Demand flexibility, distributed energy resources and virtual power plants emerge as another potential piece of the affordability puzzle. Guthridge describes increasingly sophisticated digital capabilities that could allow utilities to connect and manage flexible loads more effectively. Cutter notes that flexibility could move faster than some physical infrastructure and supply-chain constraints, although regulatory and commercial structures need to evolve to support it.

Customer trust is a recurring theme throughout the episode. Guthridge says most customers ultimately want reliable, affordable electricity with as little friction as possible. Rather than expecting customers to follow lengthy explanations about utility investments, he argues that utilities should provide useful information when customers actually experience an outage, price shock or other issue. He also identifies billing and payment as an area ripe for digital reinvention, potentially using AI to provide clearer explanations and tools for managing energy costs.

Looking five years ahead, Cutter expects utilities to take a fundamentally different approach to grid planning, customer engagement and investment transparency. She anticipates greater emphasis on explaining the benefits of infrastructure investments, identifying who bears the costs, using technology to accelerate project delivery and tailoring engagement to different customer segments.

Guthridge closes by emphasizing that the fundamentals still matter. Customers continue to prioritize reliable, safe and secure energy, but affordability increasingly requires giving customers greater choice, control and personalization through digital technologies. He also points toward a future in which generative AI could fundamentally change how utilities communicate with customers — potentially even interacting with customers' AI agents rather than directly with the customers themselves.