Data center construction and the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) are driving unprecedented electric load growth across the United States. Massive hyperscalers with deep pockets and bold aspirations need power, and they need it fast.
The demand to accommodate high-density, large loads is reshaping utility planning, grid modeling, protection engineering, and operational decision-making. As data center developers explore interconnection pathways, substation requirements, and alternative power architectures (including co-location), service providers are adopting AI tools to improve forecasting, outage prediction, and distributed energy resource (DER) coordination.
Utilities, data center operators, construction firms, technology providers, and similar counterparts are incentivized to work together on an increasingly urgent problem: delivering reliable, scalable, and affordable power fast enough to support the digital economy. Frankly, it’s a bit of the Wild West– which makes Scottsdale, Arizona, a fitting locale for the sort of cutting-edge discussions advancing the data center and AI industries.
From May 12-14, 2026, DTECH Data Centers & AI will assemble utilities, engineers, and technical decision-makers from across this emerging ecosphere in Scottsdale, Arizona, to discuss everything from capacity constraints to streamlining studies, from modernizing infrastructure to integrating onsite generation into both utility and customer-side systems.
Register for DTECH Data Centers & AI now before early-bird pricing ends on April 1, 2026.
Who Will Be There?
Professionals attend DTECH Data Centers & AI to evaluate the engineering, operational, and regulatory frameworks required to support rapid megawatt (MW) to-gigawatt (GW)-scale load growth, deploy onsite generation, integrate new technologies, and apply AI to grid and facility operations. The event is curated for experts responsible for system planning, grid integration, electrical design, mission-critical infrastructure, and operational reliability.
Last year’s event in San Jose, California, the first of its kind, attracted attendees from 38 different states and 11 countries. More than three-quarters of those people were manager level or above, lending a little extra oomph to the quality of discussions. 30% of all event-goers represented utilities; technology providers (18%), manufacturers and suppliers (12%), and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) companies (9%) were well-represented.
“It feels like yesterday you could hardly open up a trade rag for utilities and not see something written about the potential utility death spiral,” joked Ted Geisler, president and CEO of Pinnacle West and Arizona Public Service (APS), in the 2025 DTECH Data Centers & AI keynote. “Boy, how things have changed so quick[ly]. It’s nice to be loved once again.”
Utilities cannot prioritize the unique demands of data centers and AI over the rest of society’s needs, but as APS navigates new construction that requires about half the capacity of its system’s summer peak, Geisler recognizes an opportunity amidst the chaos.
“For the very first time in over a century, we are meaningfully redesigning the rate structure,” he told the DTECH crowd.
Hot Topics and Things to Look Forward To
DTECH Data Centers & AI features a packed program designed to appeal to the people making decisions that will reshape the power grid. Topics include:
- Data Center Load Growth & Grid Impacts: AI, cloud expansion, and edge compute deployments are creating the fastest electricity demand growth in decades. Sessions explore forecasting models, resource adequacy, interconnection queuing, substation planning, transformer constraints, and the evolving utility–data center partnership model.
- AI Tools for Utility Operations: Utilities are leveraging AI for outage prediction, vegetation management, DER forecasting, customer engagement, AMI analytics, grid-edge optimization, and asset-health monitoring. This stream examines applications that improve reliability, accelerate decision-making, and optimize capital deployment.
- Onsite Power & Backup Strategies: With long interconnection queues and aggressive build timelines, data centers are increasingly turning to onsite power: gas turbines, CHP, SMRs, microgrids, energy storage, and hybrid backup systems. Sessions address permitting, emissions, commercial structures, and integration with utility systems.
Sessions to check out:
Applying Agentic AI to the Utility Rate Case Process: How PPL Corporation has created various AI agents to orchestrate faster, more consistent responses to intervenor questions as part of a regulatory rate case. By identifying a business process, quantifying value, and applying a repeatable, agentic framework, PPL says it has ushered in a new era of efficiency.
Co-Designing/Optimizing Data Centers and Power Grids: Enhancing Reliability and Energy Abundance for AI Advancements: Explore how the inherent flexibility of many AI workloads, which can be paused, rescheduled, or relocated, offers a pathway to transform data centers from a grid problem into a valuable asset. This session will detail two interconnected strategies: 1) Co-optimized operations to dynamically coordinate data center loads with grid needs, effectively turning them into responsive assets that can participate in electricity markets, and 2) Co-design/co-planning to integrate data centers and their flexibility into future power infrastructure expansion and market design.
Will Government Regulation Kill AI?: Developments in State and Federal Regulation of Data Centers: This session, featuring speakers from AEP Ohio, NRG Energy, and more, will discuss the legal challenges and recent regulatory developments affecting the provision of energy to data centers. The panel will address regulations at both the state and federal levels.
Don’t miss your opportunity to participate in the conversations reshaping the grid. Register now for DTECH Data Centers & AI and secure your spot in Scottsdale, AZ!
