FirstEnergy’s third-quarter results show flat sales, rising profits, and a grid about to get a lot busier. (Utility Dive)
The utility predicts a 45% jump in peak load by 2035, driven almost entirely by data center growth. CEO Brian Tierney said the company expects demand to climb from 33.5 GW to 48.5 GW, calling data centers “the biggest new force on the grid.”
To keep up, FirstEnergy plans to boost transmission spending 30% to $18.2B over the next four years—including $1B for large-load connections—and prepare a 1.2 GW gas plant in West Virginia to backstop supply.
Tierney said FirstEnergy will make developers cover the cost of new connections, adding that “new generation and smarter grid investments” are the only way to keep customer bills from climbing higher.