T&D World Live

U.S. electricity demand is accelerating — driven by AI, hyperscale data centers, industrial growth, transportation electrification and changing consumer needs. But can the grid expand fast enough to keep pace?

In this T&D World Live episode, Editorial Director Nikki Chandler talks with Bridget Bartol, Executive Director for Grid, Industry & Regulatory for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), about the organization's Grid Reliability Study, which projects a 55% increase in electricity demand by 2050. They discuss why the challenge isn't simply about generating more power, but also about moving existing generation to where it is needed.

The conversation covers grid-enhancing technologies, advanced transmission, reconductoring, dynamic line ratings, demand response, storage, vehicle-to-grid technologies, data center interconnection, supply chains, permitting reform and the growing workforce gap.

Bartol also shares NEMA's priorities for policymakers and offers an optimistic view of what the U.S. grid could look like if the industry accelerates investment, innovation and workforce development.

As utilities confront an unprecedented wave of retirements, accelerating grid modernization and rapidly growing electricity demand, workforce readiness has become one of the industry's most pressing priorities. In this episode, T&D World Editorial Director Nikki Chandler speaks with Dr. James Merlo of the North American Generator Forum and Scott Summers of Index AR Solutions about why traditional training approaches are no longer enough — and how multimodal, immersive learning is helping utilities prepare the next generation of skilled workers.

The conversation explores the intersection of human performance, engineering psychology, digital learning technologies and operational excellence. Together, the guests discuss how utilities can shorten training timelines, preserve critical institutional knowledge, improve safety, and strengthen grid reliability while adapting to a rapidly changing workforce.

As wildfire risk continues to reshape electric utility operations, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is rethinking how technology, data and engineering can dramatically reduce risk while minimizing customer disruption. In this episode, T&D World's Jeff Postelwait sits down with Andy Abranches, Vice President of Wildfire Mitigation at PG&E, to explore how one of North America's largest utilities has transformed its wildfire strategy over the past several years.

The conversation covers PG&E's efforts to reduce the need for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), deploy AI-enabled continuous grid monitoring, expand weather intelligence, prioritize undergrounding, refine enhanced power line safety settings (EPSS) and collaborate with utilities across the industry. Andy explains how advances in predictive analytics, machine learning, remote sensing and new field technologies are helping utilities detect problems earlier, respond more precisely and build a safer, more resilient electric grid while carefully balancing affordability and reliability.

In this powerful episode of the T&D World Live Podcast, Editorial Director Nikki Chandler sits down with Chad Schimpf, Operations Safety Supervisor at Ameren Illinois, to discuss a life-changing incident that transformed both his career and his mission.

After spending more than two decades as a lineman, Chad survived a 7,200-V electrical contact that easily could have been fatal. Rather than hiding from the experience, he chose to openly share the decisions that led to the incident and the lessons that followed. Today, he has become one of the utility industry's strongest advocates for safety culture, leadership accountability and honest conversations that prevent serious injuries and fatalities.

Chad explains how small shortcuts, overconfidence and the mindset of "that's how we've always done it" can create dangerous conditions — even in organizations with strong safety programs. He reflects on the physical and emotional recovery after the incident, the difficult conversations with his family and coworkers and how his faith helped shape a new purpose focused on helping others avoid similar mistakes.

The discussion also explores why leadership plays such a critical role in creating psychological safety, encouraging employees to speak up, investing in ongoing training and building workplace cultures where stopping work or asking for help is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness.

Whether you're a lineman, supervisor, safety professional, executive or anyone responsible for building a stronger safety culture, this conversation offers practical insights and a powerful reminder that every decision matters — and that one conversation could save a life.

In this episode of the T&D World Live Podcast, host Nikki Chandler sits down with Gina Weber, program director for T&D World Live, to preview the 2026 event. This year’s newly structured conference tracks are designed to help utility professionals navigate overlapping challenges through focused conversations around grid operations and reliability, modernization and infrastructure, and digital innovation and analytics.

In this episode, T&D World Editorial Director Nikki Chandler and Head of Content Amy Fischbach recap their experience at the 2026 IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition in Chicago, one of the largest events in the global power and utility industry. The discussion centers on several major themes that dominated the conference, including affordability, resiliency, reliability, and grid modernization. The conversation also focuses heavily on the growing electricity demand driven by AI and hyperscale data centers, and how utilities are preparing for what many executives described as the largest grid expansion cycle in decades.

In this episode of the T&D World Live podcast, we speak with Michael Goggin, executive vice president of Grid Strategies, about the reliability lessons emerging from Winter Storm Fern and what the event revealed about the evolving U.S. power system.

As artificial intelligence accelerates demand for data processing and cloud computing, electric utilities and grid operators are facing unprecedented pressure to deliver reliable, affordable power at massive scale. In this episode of the T&D World Live Podcast, Managing Editor Jeff Postelwait speaks with Deloitte’s Kate Hardin, Executive Director of the Research Center for Energy and Industrials, and Deloitte's Tom Keefe, Vice Chair and U.S. Power, Utilities and Renewables Leader about how the rapid expansion of data centers is reshaping the energy industry.