David Fleming
Marketing Director, GridX
First Published Q2 2026
Data centers consumed about 4.4% of all U.S. electricity in 2023. By 2028, that number could rise to somewhere between 6.7% and 12%, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory¹. In less than a decade, data centers have moved from being part of the load picture to becoming a major planning issue for the grid.
Utilities are being asked to serve large new loads, in specific places, and on timelines that do not sit comfortably with traditional planning, interconnection, infrastructure development, or rate design processes.
Data centers are the clearest example, but the same pressure is beginning to show up across other large-load categories, from advanced manufacturing to fleet charging depots and industrial facilities electrifying more of their operations.
For utilities, the established playbook is clear – forecast the load, plan the capacity, build the infrastructure, and recover the cost. That work still matters because reliability depends on it. But as the need for flexibility grows, it is no longer enough to treat large load only as something to be served. Some of the load creating pressure on the system may also help relieve it.
Data centers consumed about 4.4% of all U.S. electricity in 2023. By 2028, that number could rise to somewhere between 6.7% and 12%, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory¹. In less than a decade, data centers have moved from being part of the load picture to becoming a major planning issue for the grid.
Utilities are being asked to serve large new loads, in specific places, and on timelines that do not sit comfortably with traditional planning, interconnection, infrastructure development, or rate design processes.
Data centers are the clearest example, but the same pressure is beginning to show up across other large-load categories, from advanced manufacturing to fleet charging depots and industrial facilities electrifying more of their operations.
For utilities, the established playbook is clear – forecast the load, plan the capacity, build the infrastructure, and recover the cost. That work still matters because reliability depends on it. But as the need for flexibility grows, it is no longer enough to treat large load only as something to be served. Some of the load creating pressure on the system may also help relieve it.
Finding Flexibility in Large Loads
Large loads often look immovable because they are large. That assumption is understandable, but it is not always true. Some industrial facilities have operating patterns that can be adjusted, while others have onsite generation or storage. Some can curtail non-critical processes for defined periods. Data centers, in particular, may have more flexibility than they first appear to have, whether through workload shifting, cooling optimization, backup generation, or other forms of controlled response.
Not Every Load Can Shift
This does not mean every large customer can move demand easily, or that flexibility comes without trade-offs. A factory may not be able to simply pause production because the grid is under pressure. A data center will not compromise uptime just because of a price spike. But flexibility does not always require a dramatic change in operations.
Sometimes it means shifting the right load, at the right time, with the right incentives in place.
The goal is not to make large loads disappear. It is to find the portions of demand that can respond when the system needs it most. It may be a narrow window, but it matters because a few high-stress hours can drive significant cost, infrastructure, and reliability decisions.
Turning Potential into Practice
For utilities to be able to rely on flexible load, it must be visible, measurable, and economically actionable. They need to know where it sits, when it is likely to matter, and how much of it can realistically move. Most importantly, they need to understand the strength of the pricing signal that would make movement worthwhile for the customer.
This is harder than it sounds because large-load customers do not all behave the same way, even when they may appear similar on paper. Facilities with similar usage may peak at different times, face different operational constraints, or respond differently to the same price signal. One may have flexible cooling load, another may have onsite storage or backup generation, while another may have a production schedule that leaves very little room to maneuver.
This is why flexibility cannot just be assumed or treated like a quick bolt-on. It needs to be grounded in data, tested against real usage patterns, and connected to rate and program structures that make sense for both the utility and the customer. Otherwise, flexibility remains aspirational. With that foundation in place, utilities can begin to understand which loads can move, when they can move, and which customers are worth engaging first.
“Utilities now have an opportunity to look at large loads differently. The goal should not be simply to absorb them, or to build around them, but to understand where they can become part of a more flexible system.”
Seeing the Pressure, Shaping the Response
At this point, forecasting and rate analytics can start to work together. Forecasting helps utilities see where and when flexibility may matter, from short-term peaks to longer-term planning needs. It can show how demand is likely to build across different parts of the system and how extreme weather may affect demand. It can also show how behind-the-meter assets may change the shape of load, and where coincident peak risk may create a pressing need for action.
But a forecast alone is not enough. Once a utility can see the pressure points, it still needs to understand how to respond. Rate analytics comes into play here. Utilities need to model different rate and program structures, test customer impacts, understand revenue implications, and evaluate whether a proposed price signal is likely to shift behavior in the right way.
From Insight to Action
This is where GridX Forecast and GridX Analyze can play complementary roles. GridX Forecast helps utilities plan for what is coming, from emerging demand patterns to peak-risk events and changes behind the meter. GridX Analyze helps test what can be done about it by modeling potential rate and program structures, while accounting for customer impact, revenue requirements, and program performance. Taken together, these capabilities give utilities a clear path from insights to action.
This gives utilities a practical way to identify where pressure is forming, understand which loads may be able to respond, design the right commercial structure, and evaluate over time whether the rate or program is producing the intended results.
Flexibility, With More Precision
Flexibility is not a new idea. Many utilities already use demand response, time-varying rates, and other programs to manage peak pressure. What is changing is the level of precision and immediacy now required as large new loads arrive faster and in more concentrated ways.
It is no longer just about asking customers to use less energy. It is about understanding when demand can move, what value that movement creates, and how to design the conditions that make it worthwhile.
For large industrial customers, that will not always mean simple curtailment. In practice, it might mean moving a workload, adjusting a process, using storage differently, or reducing demand for a defined period. The utility’s role is to create the structure that makes those actions worthwhile, through rates, programs, incentives, or agreements that reward flexibility when the system needs it most.
Turning Large Load into Grid Value
Utilities now have an opportunity to look at large loads differently. The goal should not be simply to absorb them, or to build around them, but to understand where they can become part of a more flexible system.
Data centers and large industrial facilities will still create pressure and require careful planning, investment, and cost recovery. But they should not only be viewed as fixed demand that the system must accommodate. Under the right conditions, some of that demand can become more responsive, more valuable, and more aligned with grid needs.
The flexibility era will not be defined only by what happens across millions of distributed assets at the grid edge. It will also be defined by whether utilities can turn their largest new loads from passive demand into active grid participants.
Sources:
¹ U.S. Department of Energy, Electricity Demand Growth Resource Hub
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