POLITICO Energy The state of America’s power grid with the Edison Electric Institute’s CEO
7 snips
Mar 2, 2026 Drew Maloney, president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute and voice for investor-owned utilities, talks grid reliability, investment and industry policy. He discusses regional price drivers, the rise of data centers and how utilities plan solar, batteries and gas to keep the lights on. He explains coordination with tech firms and protections for ratepayers.
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Use Large-Load Agreements To Protect Ratepayers
- Use large-load agreements to shield consumers from new data center costs.
- Maloney points to 19 states with such deals and examples where data center investments produced consumer savings.
Data Center Buildout Demands Coordinated Utility Planning
- Rapid data center load growth requires careful planning between utilities, regulators, and tech firms.
- Maloney stresses regulated utilities' obligation to serve and the need to avoid stranded costs if projects fail.
Utilities Are Actively Coordinating With Tech And Federal Agencies
- EEI and utilities are in frequent contact with major cloud and AI firms and federal agencies.
- Maloney lists Meta, Amazon, Google, OpenAI and agencies like DOE and Interior as continual partners.