Powering the future: What bold utility leaders are considering now: Insights from POWER Engineers and WSP

The Shifting Utility Landscape

The days of “business as usual” in the utility industry are no longer with us. The changes currently shaping the utility industry call for industry leaders to rethink priorities and take on new roles and new approaches that will enable their companies to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Maintaining historic levels of system reliability and rate stability while reinventing the generation and delivery of electricity are core to these challenges, but this is just the beginning. Today's utility leaders are tasked with supporting the current state while also enabling and managing load growth that, in some circles, is predicted to cause unprecedented outages and service disruptions in the coming years.

And that’s only part of the picture—leaders must also address the shifting expectations of utility customers. While countless utility executives have vowed to “put the customer first” or “put the customer at the center of all we do,” the perfect storm created by a massive energy transition intersecting with load growth driven by AI, data centers, and electrification might leave some customers in the dark—literally. Figure 1 below provides a perspective on the magnitude of the load growth in the US.

Figure 1. Projected US Load Growth. (Source: The Brattle Group.)

Signs of Optimism

Against the backdrop of these challenges, there is also reason for optimism. New technologies, a new workforce, and a diversity of ideas (much needed in this new operating environment!)  show promise for an industry that has provided 24/7 service to much of the world for over a century.

We recently had an opportunity to discuss this changing landscape with senior leaders from WSP and POWER Engineers, member of WSP. In October 2024, WSP acquired POWER Engineers, bringing two powerhouse firms together under one banner. Our discussion covered the broad swath of issues facing utility leaders today: the role of the customer, the

energy transition, emergency preparedness, and the call for a nimble, people-centric leadership style.

Serving the Customer in the Energy Transition

Looking at today’s utility customer, Chris Kasiewicz, Vice President & Business Unit Director, Advisory Services at POWER Engineers, member of WSP, commented, "Affordability for customers and rate payers is a top driver in the utility industry. As challenges like aging infrastructure, grid modernization and unprecedented load growth continue to be prioritized, utilities and have become increasingly more creative in finding solutions to meet demand and balance cost with service for their customers."

When discussing some of the solutions that Kasiewicz and his team see on the horizon to meet customer expectations and demand, he said that more utilities are starting to leverage data and AI to operate more efficiently and elevate their customers. These areas range from residential customer programs that can provide more customer choice and cost management—like energy efficiency and smart electric vehicle (EV) charging—to more novel agentic applications that increase operational efficiency across the grid.

As these simple examples illustrate, utility leaders are trying to keep up with this rapidly changing landscape, or in some cases, even get ahead of it. One example of where the role of the customer is integral to how the utility of the future operates is virtual power plants (VPPs). VPPs provide the customer with a choice on how to spend their energy dollars, while also enabling the utility to have the flexibility it needs to meet grid events, most

commonly peak loads, with the VPPs providing dispatchable loads that can ramp up quickly.

Andy Macklin, Senior Vice President with WSP USA’s Power and Energy business, says, "VPPs are an example of where utilities are 'getting it right.' This new energy environment, with a variety of participants and new customer roles, demands more transparency. VPPs are an excellent example of how utilities are partnering with their customers to provide critical energy solutions."

Of note, programs like VPPs call on customers to be more than just aware or engaged. Utilities need to actively develop partnerships where the customer is a participant and a key part of the energy landscape.

Looking more at the operations side of the house, Macklin also sees great potential in advanced conductors: “These have a huge upside potential. These conductors increase capacity without having to build greenfield technology and are an economically viable way to provide grid stability as renewable energy penetration grows.”

Leading Through Emergencies

Many utilities need a new leadership posture across and at all levels of the enterprise to address new challenges showing up in everything from day-to-day operations to emergency response. This new leadership posture “shows up” in managing new technology, changes in the workforce, escalating customer expectations and more.

One area where savvy utility leaders could be spending time and resources is in their outage posture. The questions they must ask include: Is technology being fully leveraged here? Have they “war gamed” all scenarios? Is their communications plan adequate for storms or other emergencies on a scale?

Macklin says, “This is another area where being transparent and open with communication is the best way to maintain integrity with the customer.” He continued, “Utility leaders should also continue to stay on top of new technologies to identify outages, like using AI to identify faults down to the span on a feeder. These opportunities create a much more focused effort when dispatching crews, resulting in faster restoration times and more efficient use of resources.”

A New Type of Leadership

While emergencies and outages stretch leaders to maximum efforts, day-to-day utility operations are not "business as usual." The convergence of everything that is happening today—load growth, new technology, changing customer roles and expectations, financial pressures, and, of course, the energy transition—all call for a new kind of utility leadership. Kasiewicz sees these challenges in his work with clients: "It really is a new landscape. Utility leaders need to be tech savvy; people-centric for both customers and employees; financially aware; and able to understand and execute strategies that align with a myriad of regulatory requirements."

Kasiewicz added that words like “flexible” and “nimble” are no longer abstract concepts or nice-to-haves. These are everyday requirements for utility leaders.

Conclusion: A Roadmap for the Future

Utilities have long been known for reliability, stability, and long careers. Those qualities remain—but today they exist in a radically evolving landscape. As Kasiewicz and Macklin emphasize, success requires new levels of agility, partnership, and customer focus.

For a deeper dive into these themes, subscribe to the Utility2030 newsletter here. To learn more about the work of POWER Engineers and WSP, connect with their team https://www.powereng.com/contact/.