Balancing Growth and Affordability While Building the Grid We Need Today

Balancing Growth and Affordability While Building the Grid We Need Today

From GridPulse, a Grid Forward podcast by gridforward

March 11, 2026 · 33 min · Episode 73

About this episode

Virginia Commissioner Jehmal Hudson discusses the challenges of rising energy demand and the need for smarter grid planning and regulation.

On the season opener of GridPulse, Virginia Commissioner Jehmal Hudson joins the podcast to discuss the national and local drivers behind rising energy demand and what they mean for grid planning and regulation. He explores the need for smarter transmission utilization, meeting the demand for accelerating data center facilities, thoughtful rate design for large loads, and updated regulatory processes that take innovation into account without sacrificing public accountability. As the energy landscape evolves, Judge Hudson emphasizes that affordability must remain a core outcome, and not a restraint, as decision-makers work to modernize the grid for the demands of today as well as the future.

People in this episode

Guest: Jehmal Hudson

Topics covered

  • energy demand
  • grid planning
  • regulation
  • transmission utilization
  • data centers
  • rate design
  • public accountability

Keywords

  • affordability
  • innovation
  • modernization
  • energy landscape

Mentioned in this episode

Products: GridPulse

Places: Virginia

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