Video recording of the session at the bottom of this post
Artificial intelligence has become ubiquitous, touching every endeavor to varying degrees. To utilities, it has become essential. Those that have hesitated are rushing to catch up. At first, it was a predictive tool used in weather forecasting, wildfire suppression, maintenance anticipation, and load calculations. Now it is finding its way into operations and management. The data centers that make AI possible are also the greatest source of growing electricity demand and income. This puts utilities in the position of getting benefits — and challenges — coming and going. Utilities and AI are entwined, inseparable and mutually dependent. Many questions hang over this dual role as user and supplier.
The United States Energy Association examined the dynamic and volatile AI-utility connection at its recent virtual press briefing on Oct. 22.
Experts:
Rudy Garza, President and CEO, CPS Energy
Tom Falcone, President, Large Public Power Council
Jeremy Renshaw, Executive Director, AI and Quantum, EPRI.
Bill Kosik, Sector Leader-Mission Critical, HED
David Wade, CEO, EPB of Chattanooga, Tennessee
Molly Vitek-Scott, Director of Commercial Execution, Switched Source LLC
Charles Murray, CEO, Switched Source
Ryan Levine, Utilities Leader, EY Americas (Ernst & Young)
Reporters:
Peter Behr, Politico's E&E News
Evan Halper, The Washington Post
Adam Clayton Powell III, PBS
Ken Silverstein, Forbes
Matt Chester, Energy Central