Electric companies drive economic development, grid investments, and customer benefits across the country, thanks in large part to the win-wins they create for communities through their work with hyperscalers, large manufacturers, and data center developers.

Last week, EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney moderated a discussion between EEI Vice Chairs Drew Marsh, chair and CEO of Entergy; and Chris Womack, chairman, president, and CEO of Southern Company, during a Gulf South Business Roundtable event in Washington, D.C.

The group discussed the importance of industry-government coordination, electric companies’ commitment to protecting and serving customers, and the opportunities that are being unlocked in the Gulf South by hyperscaler investments.

“We’re seeing this region lead on affordability initiatives, on smart data center development, and on community engagement, with projects that benefit everyone,” Maloney said. “We’ve seen study after study show that grid-connected data centers can drive down prices and deliver meaningful benefits to customers. Entergy and Southern Company are case studies and role models for the rest of the country for the work they are doing in the Gulf South.”

Key Takeaways:

Hyperscalers Are Paying Their Fair Share – And Then Some

Context: Fair share agreements ensure tech companies and data center developers pay for the energy infrastructure they need – projects that benefit all customers by spreading fixed costs, creating jobs, and unlocking new streams of tax revenue to support schools, roads, bridges, and fire departments.

Entergy’s Fair Share Plus pledge ensures data centers pay their own way – and ultimately drive benefits to existing customers. In Louisiana, for example, school teachers in Richland Parish went from being among the lowest paid in the state to some of the highest paid thanks to increased tax revenues from an Entergy-powered Meta data center project.

Electric Perspectives: 

• “Our Fair Share Plus pledge lines up with the Ratepayer Protection Pledge that several hyperscalers signed in Washington a few months ago. … These projects are adding to schools and paying for new fire engines, libraries, and roads that help our communities.” - Entergy’s Drew Marsh
• “These projects are incredible economic engines for many of our communities. … Because of how we structure these projects and negotiate these contracts, we’re making sure they’re not only paying their fair share: They’re paying a premium that allows us to hold rates flat, or you’re seeing rates decline.” - Southern Company’s Chris Womack

Electric Companies Put Customers First

Context: Independent studies from EPRI, Columbia University, and The Brattle Group conclude that data centers and large customers put downward pressure on rates when connected to the grid. Previous research from Charles River Associates and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory also found that customers outside of the PJM region have largely been shielded from cost increases related to data centers and benefit from new large loads.

Entergy’s work with data center developers, for example, is driving $7 billion in savings to the company’s 2.3 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Meanwhile, Georgia Power’s data center work allowed regulators to lower customer rates by approximately $50 per year – following last year’s approval of a multi-year rate freeze thanks to Georgia Power’s work with data centers and large load customers. Similar freezes have been approved in Alabama thanks to Southern Company’s work.

Electric Perspectives:

• “If you look at the history of electricity and what our industry has done for more than 100 years, a cornerstone of our work has been a commitment to reliability, to service, and to our communities. That community focus has been tied to economic development and how we grow our communities, grow our tax base, and make communities better.” - Southern Company’s Chris Womack
• “We start by putting the customer at the center of everything we do. All of our decision making cascades from there. … Our communities, collectively, are very supportive of these opportunities because of how much these projects support our existing customers.” - Entergy’s Drew Marsh

New Infrastructure Is Efficient, Resilient, and Ready to Meet Demand

Context: Electric companies ensure the new infrastructure built to support data centers is new, modern, efficient, and beneficial to all customers.

Southern Company is developing or upgrading more than 1,300 miles of transmission and distribution lines across Georgia and Alabama. In Louisiana, Entergy estimates its work with Meta alone will lead to a 10 percent reduction in storm recovery and grid resilience costs to its customer base.

Grid-connected data centers enhance the resilience of the broader system, give tech companies the reliability their facilities need to operate, and subsidize the construction of new energy infrastructure and upgrades to existing assets.

Electric Perspectives:

• “My expectation is we will continue to have large-scale customer growth. That will be the engine that remakes the transmission and distribution grid. It will make rebuilding existing infrastructure more affordable for our customers. That’s what I’m excited about. There will be benefits for new customers coming in and all of our existing customers, as well.” - Entergy’s Drew Marsh
• “We’re going to meet this new demand, but we’re going to continue to make the right investments to make sure we strengthen the grid for our existing customers. That’s the responsibility that we have. We’re going to uphold that responsibility and execute around it.” - Southern Company’s Chris Womack

In October, EEI published new data detailing capital expenditures that America’s investor-owned electric companies are expected to make in 2025.

“America’s electric companies are working every day to help lower costs and improve reliability for their customers,” said EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney. “Our new data shows how our industry is strengthening the energy grid with real investments—in jobs, critical infrastructure, and communities across the nation. These long-term investments will benefit customers, drive economic growth, and help America achieve energy dominance.”

Key findings include:

• EEI member companies are projected to invest nearly $208 billion in 2025 to make the energy grid smarter, stronger, more efficient, and more secure.
• 91 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity is currently under construction, and 488 GW is planned or has been proposed for the next five years.
• As the economy electrifies and more power flows through the grid, EEI member companies’ investments will be distributed across a larger customer base, driving down costs for American families and businesses while fueling sustained economic growth and prosperity.

Scroll to read the full report, and visit eei.org/data for more industry research and statistics.

Driven by the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and data centers, industrialization, and electrification across the economy, electricity generation in the United States climbed 3 percent in 2024, reaching 4,303,038 gigawatt hours (GWh), according to EEI’s 2024 Statistical Yearbook.

It was the largest year-over-year jump in electricity generation in five years, according to the report, which EEI publishes annually to track key industry benchmarks. America’s energy demand is expected to continue climbing in the years ahead, as AI and ongoing electrification trends reshape customer needs. By 2030, domestic electricity generation is projected to climb north of 4,500,000 GWh and reach 6,179,000 GWh by 2050.

Fueling that additional generation capacity is a diverse energy mix: Natural gas accounted for 43.3 percent of electricity generated last year, with nuclear energy accounting for 18.2 percent of all generation. Coal (15.2 percent), wind (10.5 percent), hydro (5.5 percent), and solar (5.1 percent) were also important tools in the industry’s energy toolbox.

Investor-owned electric companies have been investing tens of billions of dollars to build new critical energy infrastructure of all kinds and will invest more than $1.1 trillion during the next five years to build out the grid and power prosperity. The U.S. energy grid was powered by more than 1,352 gigawatts (GW) of installed generating capacity at the end of 2024—up nearly 5 percent year over year.

More than 52 GW of generating capacity was added to the grid last year, along with nearly 12 GW of battery storage technologies. Battery storage capacity added last year was up 55 percent from what was added to the grid in 2023.

Looking back an additional year for the most recent data, the report found that industry construction spending on transmission projects was up 12.5 percent in 2023 from the year prior, totaling $30 billion. Distribution expenditures were up 17.8 percent during the same period, totaling $56.7 billion.

To read the report and to view more of the latest industry data, visit eei.org/data.

A National Grid program that helps support commercial and industrial customers in Central New York helped create 165 new jobs last year and contributed to nearly $1 million in energy savings. 

National Grid’s Manufacturing Productivity Program is an economic development initiative that provides financial assistance and sustainable solutions through grants to help eligible companies streamline their manufacturing efforts, increase productivity, and eliminate waste. More than $370,000 in such grants were approved in 2024, helping to support a sector that employs more than 412,000 New Yorkers and that generated more than $90 billion in economic activity last year. 

“National Grid’s priority is to provide our customers with affordable, reliable energy to fuel their businesses,” National Grid External Affairs Director for Central New York Alberto Bianchetti said in a statement. “Our Manufacturing Productivity Program offers valuable resources to companies throughout Central New York looking to increase productivity and expand the capabilities of their workforces while also reducing waste and lowering costs.” 

Since 2003, National Grid’s 18 economic development programs have provided more than $150 million in economic development grant funding in upstate New York, creating or retaining nearly 75,000 jobs and leveraging more than $12 billion in other private and public investments. 

“Our Manufacturing Productivity Program provides tools to help local companies sustainably grow,” said National Grid Director of Economic Development Katie Newcombe. “Finding efficiencies and improving processes ensures our customers become more productive and profitable and contributes to the overall economic wellbeing of the communities we serve.”

Increased industrialization and manufacturing activity are two of the key drivers of electricity demand growth in New York and throughout the United States, alongside artificial intelligence technologies and data center expansion and the electrification of the broader economy. 

National Grid and other EEI member companies have been making substantial infrastructure investments to help support demand growth. Investor-owned electric companies invested a record $178.2 billion to enhance America’s critical energy infrastructure last year and are projected to make more than $1.1 trillion in similar investments between 2025 and 2029, creating millions of jobs and supporting local economies across the country. 

The industry also is embracing AI and innovative technologies to drive efficiency and better serve customers. National Grid Partners, the unregulated corporate venture capital and innovation arm of the company, announced a commitment to investing $100 million into energy-related AI startups during CERAWeek earlier this year. Read more at electricperspectives.com.