Power Generation and Transmission: Yet Another Transformative Moment

• By: AWMA
• On: 02/04/2026 18:52:41
• In: EM Articles
• Comments: 0

by Eric L. Hiser

The generation and transmission of electricity has been a central feature of life since shortly after Thomas Edison invented the first practical light bulb in 1879. Despite that centrality, or perhaps because of it, generation and transmission has undergone multiple transformations. Edison championed direct current (DC) power, which dissipated rapidly away from the power station and kept early generation quite local, often provided by municipal power providers. Much of this power was generated by small water, coal, or oil-fired plants. A significant transformation occurred in 1896, when Westinghouse introduced alternating current (AC) power, which allowed electricity to be transmitted dozens of miles and created the possibility of a more regional grid. Investors quickly realized this would allow larger power plants to be built, increasing both scale and efficiency. In 1936, another transformation occurred when Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act with the goal of providing reliable and affordable power to rural areas, which greatly expanded electric transmission and distribution to rural areas.

In this issue, the authors seek to parse through the many current challenges and resulting uncertainties affecting the generation and transmission of electric power. We start with an overview of U.S. electricity policy at the federal level by John D. Kinsman. This article details the deregulatory agenda of the Trump Administration at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but also efforts at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The article presents a comprehensive overview of current administration initiatives affecting the sector.

In the next article, Mary Hauner-Davis (Burns & McDonnell) builds on those themes and outlines the challenges presented in seeking to permit new capacity to meet the forecast growth in load. Challenges include uncertainty in how much load will be needed, specific challenges related to the data center demand on the grid, and the tendency of data center load to cluster in a small area. She then details the interaction of power plant construction with the Clean Air Act's multiple permitting programs and touches on the number and complexity of issues, including short-term NAAQS, expanded modeling domains, and the impact of state regulatory policies. The article provides a valuable window into the issues facing power systems and their customers as growth in demand meets retirements and variable renewable mandates.

We then step back from the big picture to look at how these forces affect a particular area: Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix is the capital of Arizona and fifth largest city in the United States. It has become a hub for AI, semiconductor and data center development. In his article Eric C. Massey (Arizona Public Service [APS]; one of the two principal electric utilities serving the Phoenix/ Maricopa county area), discusses the challenges of meeting this demand in a non-attainment area. Some data centers are seeking up to 2,000 MW of electricity for a single facility—an amount larger than some commercial power plants generate. APS has forecast that by 2038 it must serve a peak load 60% greater than it did in 2023. The author details the steps APS is taking, including sourcing renewable energy, signing on for new gas pipelines, and building new power plants to meet these needs. He discusses timelines for various types of projects and how these affect decisions on how to serve load and highlights the challenges of implementing these strategies within a nonattainment area.

Lastly, Charles Erickson (Maricopa County Air Quality Department, MCAQD) speaks to the challenges of regulating a complex metropolitan area in the face of continuous growth and surging demand for electric power. The author notes that data centers create not just primary power demand but secondary emissions from emergency generators and cooling towers. While emergency generators do not run often, they can have implications for compliance with the short-term national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) such as those for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter.

When power suppliers struggle to meet demand on their schedule, which is the case in Phoenix, data centers may look to provide their own power. In a nonattainment area, that requires emission offsets usually satisfied by obtaining emission reduction credits (ERCs) from existing industry.

But in a relatively new city like Phoenix, ERCs are difficult to find. The author lays out efforts by MCAQD and its sister agencies to develop non traditional sources of ERCs to allow development while still protecting air quality in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The author emphasizes the importance of early engagement with regulators to ensure that new growth is sustainable. As we hope this issue shows, electricity generation and transmission remains central to powering modern society but faces another transformative period as it seeks to accommodate rapid, high-intensity load growth with community clean air and environmental quality expectations in a sustainable, reliable and affordable way. 

Read more here.