As electricity demand grows and states debate how to pay for new infrastructure, questions around affordability, customer choice, and financial risk are becoming central to the future of the power sector. 

Consumers across the country are seeing rising electricity bills, while policymakers face increasing pressure to ensure the grid can support data centers, manufacturing growth, and electrification without placing excessive costs on households and businesses. 

In this episode, Chris Ercoli, President and CEO of the Retail Energy Advancement League (REAL), joins EPSA CEO Todd Snitchler to discuss how competitive retail and wholesale power markets can help address affordability concerns while expanding customer choice and encouraging private investment. 

Chris explains why REAL believes traditional utility models are struggling to keep pace with rising demand, evolving customer expectations, and the growing need for flexible energy products. He breaks down the differences between vertically integrated utility systems and competitive retail markets, why long-term structural infrastructure costs are driving prices higher, and how retail competition can give customers more control over price certainty and risk. 

They also discuss why states like Missouri are debating retail choice, how data centers and load growth are reshaping infrastructure investment, and why REAL believes private capital—not ratepayers—should bear the financial risk of building new generation. 

Topics include: 

• Why electricity affordability has become a growing concern for consumers and policymakers,  
• The difference between traditional utility models and competitive retailpower markets,  
• How customer choice can provide flexibility, price certainty, and customized energy products,  
• Why states are reconsidering retail competition amid rising demand growth,  
• The role of private capital versus ratepayer-backed utility investment,  
• How utilities recover infrastructure costs through the rate base,  
• Why large energy users are seeking direct access to competitive generation,  
• How states like Missouri are debating energy choice and new generation investment,  
• The risks associated with CWIP (Construction Work in Process) and long-term infrastructure cost recovery,  
• And why REAL believes competitive markets can help balance affordability, reliability, and investment needs. 

Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA 

Guest: Chris Ercoli, President and CEO, REAL

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After years of flat demand, the power sector is facing a dramatic shift. AI, hyperscale data centers, electrification, and manufacturing growth are driving a new wave of electricity demand—and putting unprecedented pressure on the grid. 

Gas turbine orders are expected to peak in 2026 as developers secure equipment for more than 60 gigawatts of new gas capacity. 

In this episode, Matt Neal, President of Siemens Energy North America, joins EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler to break down what this moment means from the front lines of equipment manufacturing. From turbine shortages and long lead times to supply chain constraints and workforce challenges, Matt explains why building new power infrastructure isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. 

They discuss how demand from data centers is reshaping how projects are developed, why customers are reserving equipment years in advance, and how Siemens Energy is investing billions to expand U.S. manufacturing capacity. Matt also explains why gas turbines remain critical for reliability, how they support an increasingly dynamic grid while also achieving efficiency and emissions milestones, and what the system could look like by 2040. 

Topics include: 

• Why electricity demand growth today represents a “generational shift” for the power sector,  
• How AI and data centers are reshaping load growth and infrastructure planning,  
• Why turbine lead times now stretch close to 2030 and what’s driving the bottleneck, 
• How supply chain, workforce, and manufacturing constraints are impacting grid expansion,  
• The shift from traditional procurement to reservation-based equipment strategies,  
• Why gas turbines remain essential for reliability and grid stability,  
• The latest innovations and technology breakthroughs, 
• How hyperscale data centers are changing project development and co-location strategies,  
• And what needs to happen across the industry to maintain reliability and affordability as demand accelerates. 

Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA 

Guest: Matt Neal, President, Siemens Energy North America 

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In this special live episode of Energy Solutions, recorded at EPSA’s 5th Annual Competitive Power Summit, Ed Crooks of Wood Mackenzie moderates a panel on what it will take to finance the power system of the future. 

Panelists discuss how quickly new infrastructure can be built to meet rising demand, what investors need to deploy capital, and the policy and regulatory challenges shaping development in an increasingly tight supply-demand environment. 

Topics include: 

• What it will take to finance the full power system, 
• How Wall Street is evaluating energy investment opportunities and risk, 
• The role of policy stability in unlocking private capital, 
• And the role of large energy users, including data centers, in shaping investment decisions. 

Moderator: Ed Crooks, Vice Chair Americas, Wood Mackenzie, and host of the Energy Gang podcast  

Guests:  

• Judge Kelsey Bagot, Virginia State Corporation Commission  
• Anthony Crowdell, Managing Director, Mizuho Americas    
• Andrew Gilbert, Partner, Energy Capital Partners    
• Josh Levi, President, Data Center Coalition 

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In this special episode of Energy Solutions, recorded live at EPSA's 5th Annual Competitive Power Summit, Kathryn Clay, Lead Energy & Climate Analyst at Washington Post Intelligence, moderates a discussion with LS Power Generation President Nate Hanson, Speaker Matt Huffman of the Ohio House of Representatives, Competitive Power Ventures CEO Sherman Knight, and Gordon van Welie, former President and CEO of ISO New England, on how state leadership is shaping where and how new energy resources are built. As demand for electricity accelerates, panelists explore how state policy decisions influence investment, the growing challenges around permitting and infrastructure development, and what is needed to expand capacity and maintain reliability.  

• The role of states in ensuring resource adequacy and reliability,  
• How policy decisions shape where energy investment flows, 
• Barriers to building new generation, including permitting and infrastructure constraints, 
• The importance of regulatory stability for attracting private capital, 
• How affordability pressures are influencing energy policy decisions, 
• And the growing tension between state, regional, and federal roles in power markets. 

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In this special live episode of Energy Solutions, recorded at EPSA’s 5th Annual Competitive Power Summit, NARUC President Ann Rendahl and FERC Commissioner David Rosner join Todd Snitchler to discuss how regulators are navigating rising costs and growing investment needs across the power grid. 

They explore who pays for grid expansion, how to balance affordability with reliability, and the critical role state and federal regulators play in shaping the future of the power system. 

Topics include: 

• Rising cost pressures and long-term grid investment needs, 
• Balancing affordability with reliability and infrastructure expansion, 
• State vs. Roles in cost allocation and decision making, 
• The importance of transparency,  
• How regulators can better communicate with the public, and  
• Permitting, transmission, and building new supply to meet demand. 

Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA 

Guests: Ann Rendahl, President, NARUC and Commissioner, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission 

David Rosner, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

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In this special live episode of Energy Solutions, recorded at EPSA’s 5th Annual Competitive Power Summit, Peter Lake of the White House National Energy Dominance Council joins Todd Snitchler to discuss the future of the U.S. power grid as demand surges from AI. 

Lake highlights the need to modernize grid policy, speed up interconnection, and support new infrastructure, emphasizing that energy policy is critical to economic strength, competitiveness, and national security. 

Topics include: 

• Top priorities for the National Energy Dominance Council, 
• AI-driven electricity demand and the race for global leadership, 
• Stabilize, optimize, and grow: a three-part framework for grid transformation. 
• Co-location of data centers and generation resources, 
• PJM market reforms and the future of power markets, 
• Balancing affordability, reliability, and infrastructure investment, 
• And the importance of regulatory flexibility and stakeholder collaboration. 

Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA 

Guest: Peter Lake, Senior Director of Power, White House National Energy Dominance Council

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In this special live episode of Energy Solutions, recorded at EPSA’s 5th Annual Competitive Power Summit on March 3 in Washington, D.C., EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler joins Wolfe Research analyst Steve Fleishman to discuss the surge in electricity demand driven by AI, data centers, and electrification—and what it means for investment in new power infrastructure. 

The conversation covers the reality behind rising load forecasts, how investors are responding, and why clear market structures and policy signals are critical to supporting the next generation of energy development. 

Topics include: 

• How AI, data centers, and electrification are reshaping electricity demand forecasts, 
• Whether current load growth projections are realistic and what could slow them down, 
• The scale of investment required to build new generation and infrastructure, 
• The growing role of long-term contracts and durable, long-term capital investment in the power sector, 
• And why political and regulatory stability is critical for attracting capital. 

Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA 

Guest: Steve Fleishman, Managing Director and Senior Analyst, Wolfe Research 

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AI and data centers are driving electricity demand higher just as Americans are feeling the pressure of rising energy bills. Meanwhile, utilities are seeking approval for unprecedented levels of grid investment. As state regulators gather this week for their annual Winter Policy Summit, the question is front and center: how do we keep the lights on without breaking the bank? 

In this episode, Ann Rendahl—who leads state utility regulators nationwide as president of NARUC and serves as a utility commissioner in Washington State— discusses how regulators balance reliability and affordability, the tools they use to decide which investments are truly needed, and where the biggest cost pressures are emerging. Drawing on her experience working with organized wholesale power markets in the West and Midwest, she explains how competition, private investment, and early collaboration between industry and regulators can help manage costs and deliver the reliable infrastructure customers expect. 

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With AI, data centers, and electrification are driving a surge in electricity demand, the pressure is on to keep America’s power grid reliable and affordable. The real question is whether we’ll meet this moment with competitive, market-driven investment – or shift the risk and the cost back onto consumers. 

In this episode of Energy Solutions, EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler sits down with Mason Emnett, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at Constellation Energy, the nation’s largest nuclear power plant operator and largest private-sector power producer. 

They discuss what’s really behind today’s energy demand forecasts, why misunderstanding new load profiles can lead to costly overreactions, what the Crane Clean Energy Center restart tells us about the future of nuclear power, what’s happening in PJM, and why competitive markets – where investors bear the risk, not consumers – matter more than ever as the U.S. enters a new era of electricity growth. 

Topics include: 

• Why AI and data centers are changing electricity demand, 
• The biggest misunderstandings about new load growth, 
• Who should bear the risk when demand forecasts or projects are wrong, 
• How competitive markets protect consumer from risk better than vertically-integrated models, 
• What the Crane Clean Energy Center restart means for nuclear’s future, 
• How permitting, interconnection, and market reform can unlock private investment, 
• What Maryland’s CPCN process reveals about state energy policy choices, 
• And why abandoning competition would raise costs and slow progress. 

Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA 

Guest: Mason Emnett, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Constellation Energy 

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What would happen if a coordinated cyber and physical attack disrupted the systems that power daily life—not just power plants, but data centers, pipelines, and communications? 

Cyber and physical threats to the electric grid are growing more advanced, more frequent, and harder to detect. The impacts can ripple far beyond the energy sector, affecting communities, public safety, and the broader economy. From sophisticated phishing to copper theft from power plants, competitive power suppliers, grid operators, and utilities must stay prepared. 

In this episode of Energy Solutions, EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler sits down with one of the nation’s top grid security leaders to unpack today’s threat landscape and what it takes to strengthen the power system. Michael Ball is Senior Vice President of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and CEO of the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC). They discuss the rising role of AI in cyberattacks, how adversaries target industrial control systems, and why information sharing across the energy sector is essential. 

They also cover insights from the recent national GridEx VIII exercise—as well as a new “Grid-Ex-in-a-Box" drill EPSA customized for member companies this November in Houston—and explore how competitive power suppliers can get prepared before a real crisis hits. 

Topics include: 

• How cyber threats have become constant and increasingly sophisticated, 
• The rise of almost autonomous AI-enabled cyberattacks, 
• Physical security risks including vandalism, copper theft, and drone activity at power plants, 
• How adversaries target industrial control systems with advanced toolkits,  
• The critical role of information sharing across competitive power suppliers, utilities, and government partners, 
• What the E-ISAC does and how it supports industry-wide situational awareness, 
• Key insights from GridEx VIII, 
• The importance of resilient communications strategies and updated playbooks, 
•  And what competitive power suppliers and utilities should focus on heading into 2026. 

Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA 

Guest: Michael Ball, senior vice president, NERC, CEO, E-ISAC   

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