Utilities can use AI to solve grid backlogs: AWS energy lead

Utility Dive · Joseph Santamaria · 2026-10-15 12:00 UTC

The utilities moving first on AI-powered grid planning are delivering faster approvals, fewer outages and lower costs, writes Amazon Web Services’ head of energy and utilities, Joseph Santamaria.

Joseph Santamaria is general manager of energy and utilities at Amazon Web Services.

The U.S. economy is facing a looming shortage of electricity on the grid. With energy demand projected to grow more than 50% by 2050, utilities are under growing pressure to keep up.

The problem isn’t a lack of new energy projects. In the United States, more than 2,000 GW of potential power projects are waiting to be reviewed — enough to power every home in the country more than twice over. The challenge is bringing those projects from planning to execution.

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