New load growth from artificial intelligence, data centers, advanced manufacturing, and electrification of vehicles and appliances is putting utility load forecasts to the test for their accuracy.

Industrial and consumer groups wrote a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) urging them to be more involved in utility load forecasts. The OMA has been an early and frequent voice calling for more transparency of utility load forecasts.

Last year in Ohio, AEP forecasted their summer peak load in 2035 of approximately 26,000 MW. This year, their 2035 forecast jumped to 40,000 MW, even amidst a moratorium on new data center interconnections. High load forecasts could trigger unnecessary generation and transmission projects whose costs fall on the shoulders of consumers through utility rate increases. 6/11/2025