Democrats won elections in Virginia and Georgia that have implications for energy policy: offshore wind and data centers in Virginia and affordability in both.

Utilities face significant forecasting risks from large loads, prompting the industry to develop various strategies to eliminate speculative projects, experts said during a Western Interstate Energy Board webinar.

Georgia Power will add at least 6 GW of new generation capacity by 2031, and potentially as much as 8.5 GW, under its recently approved integrated resource plan.

The data center dilemma centers first on a familiar mismatch of timescales. Utilities and their regulators tend to plan based on the small, incremental demand growth. But development and the power demand it generates move at ever-increasing digital speed.

Utilities around the country expect peak demand to grow by 128 GW, or 15.8%, to 947 GW by 2029, according to the latest report from Grid Strategies.

While most customers have seen their power restored since Hurricane Helene hit, some of the hardest hit and most remote customers could wait weeks to get their lights back.

The first new reactors built in the U.S. since 2016, Vogtle’s two units have come online seven years late and $17 billion over budget, leaving subsequent projects surrounded by perceptions of risk.