Dear Friends,
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 will examine the dynamic and volatile AI-utility connection at its next virtual press briefing, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 11 a.m. EDT.
I organize and host these press briefings on Zoom. As usual, a panel of senior journalists who cover energy will question a panel of experts on the subject.
If you think you should be on the AI experts panel for the Oct. 22 briefing or know someone who should, contact me at llewellynking1@gmail.com. Also, contact me if you would like to sponsor the briefing.
The subject is white-hot, and I expect considerable press coverage, as with previous virtual press briefings.
I can’t predict what questions my colleagues will ask, but here are some that I am sure will come up:
- Are we seeing an AI bubble like the dot-com bubble in the 1990s?
- Will technology intervene, and will future AI chips require much less electricity?
- When a utility gets data center interest, can it be sure that the data center developer isn’t talking to several utilities in various places?
- How much of the utility’s operational technology is safe to hand over to AI at this point?
- Are utilities, like other employers, likely to lay off workers?
- If there is supply stress, can AI manage that better than traditional staff?
I look forward to hearing from you, and to your participation.
Cheers,
Llewellyn
Executive Producer and Host
“White House Chronicle” on PBS;
Columnist, Creators Syndicate;
Contributor, Forbes, Energy Central;
Commentator, SiriusXM Radio
Mobile: (202) 441-2702
Website: whchronicle.com