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Read articleElectricity systems are entering an investment cycle in which demand is accelerating faster than grids, flexibility and connection capacity can expand
We see utilities and power businesses balancing new demand and renewable growth with grid congestion, capital intensity, system reliability and increasingly complex market design.
Power and utilities enter September 2026 as global electricity demand accelerates and new loads from data centers, electrification and industry place greater pressure on infrastructure. Renewable generation continues to expand rapidly, but grid investment and connection capacity have not kept pace, leaving large volumes of generation, storage and demand waiting for access. This changes the industry's economics: generation growth alone is insufficient without transmission, distribution, flexibility and storage capable of integrating it. Utilities, developers and infrastructure investors must decide where scarce capital can create the greatest system value while navigating regulation, affordability and long asset lives.
Focus
Electricity demand is accelerating faster than the infrastructure built to carry it
Data centers, electrification and industry are increasing load while grid queues and network constraints delay both generation and consumption.
Read nowStrategic Challenges
Can power systems expand fast enough for the age of electricity?
The challenge is coordinating generation, networks, storage and flexible demand while connection queues already exceed available grid capacity.
Read nowStrategic Impacts
Grid capacity is becoming the scarce asset of the energy transition
Value increasingly sits in transmission, distribution and flexibility as power demand and renewable generation expand simultaneously.
Read nowObserved Patterns
Energy strategies often add generation while treating the grid as someone else's problem
New supply creates limited value when transmission constraints, interconnection delays and inflexible demand prevent electricity from reaching users.
Read nowStrategic Challenges
Can power systems expand fast enough for the age of electricity?
The challenge is coordinating generation, networks, storage and flexible demand while connection queues already exceed available grid capacity.
Read nowStrategic Impacts
Grid capacity is becoming the scarce asset of the energy transition
Value increasingly sits in transmission, distribution and flexibility as power demand and renewable generation expand simultaneously.
Read nowObserved Patterns
Energy strategies often add generation while treating the grid as someone else's problem
New supply creates limited value when transmission constraints, interconnection delays and inflexible demand prevent electricity from reaching users.
Read nowIndustry Challenge
Power systems must expand capacity while preserving affordability and reliability
Utilities are being asked to connect more renewable generation, data centers, electric vehicles and electrified industrial loads while maintaining reliability through more volatile energy markets. Grid investment has not kept pace with generation and demand, creating congestion and long interconnection queues in many regions. At the same time, equipment and skilled labor constraints raise project costs. The challenge is to expand and modernize the system without allowing infrastructure bottlenecks or affordability concerns to slow electrification.
Future Outlook
Grid flexibility will become the central architecture of the electrified economy
The future power system will rely on a broader combination of renewables, nuclear, storage, demand response, digital control and flexible generation. As variable generation grows, value will shift toward networks and assets that can move, store or reshape electricity in time and location. Utilities will need more dynamic planning and market signals, while digital systems improve forecasting and grid utilization. The most successful operators will treat transmission, distribution and flexibility as strategic growth platforms, coordinating generation, customers and large new loads.
Market Outlook
Electricity demand is accelerating as renewables overtake coal in global generation
Global power markets are expanding in 2026 despite energy-price shocks. The IEA expects electricity demand to grow faster this year than in 2025, supported by industry, cooling, EVs and data centers. Renewable generation is set to overtake coal and continue gaining share, but grid constraints are becoming a major bottleneck: more than 2,500 GW of generation, storage and large-load projects are waiting in connection queues globally. Investment therefore needs to shift beyond generation toward networks, flexibility and equipment supply chains. Power availability is increasingly strategic.
POV
The energy transition may be constrained less by generation than by connection
Building renewables is becoming easier than moving power through networks that were never designed for today's scale of change.
Read nowOur approach
Read the power system as an interconnected infrastructure portfolio rather than separate generation technologies
Our approach� connects demand, generation, grids, storage, flexibility and market design at system level. We examine how new loads and renewable penetration affect congestion, price formation, reliability and the value of different assets across locations and time periods. Regulatory frameworks and financing are considered alongside physical constraints because long-lived infrastructure economics depend heavily on both. We use this system view to evaluate development, portfolio and capital choices, distinguishing projects that add nominal capacity from investments that solve scarce system needs and therefore have stronger strategic foundations.
The data and estimates presented are indicative and intended for illustrative purposes. Actual outcomes may vary based on each company’s specific context, market conditions, operating model, implementation choices, and the quality and consistency of execution, including actions undertaken by the client.
Keypillars
Explore the key pillars that define this capability and shape how we create focused, measurable business impact.
Power economics
Understands generation costs, capacity factors, tariffs, market structures, and capital returns across conventional and renewable power
System operations
Examines generation, transmission, distribution, storage, grid balancing, and customer demand across integrated power systems
Transition dynamics
Tracks electrification, renewables, storage, grid constraints, regulation, and investment needs reshaping the global power sector
Can your energy business manage rising demand while the economics and architecture of power systems change?
Get in touch with our Power, utilities and renewable energy team to address investment, market, infrastructure and transition challenges.
Get in touchStrategic Framework
Explore our Strategic Framework
Autonomous AI agents are changing how work is executed, enabling adaptive processes that respond intelligently to changing conditions instead of following predefined rules.
Discover our framework01. Map system
Assess generation, grids, storage, retail, fuels, renewables, regulation, customers, and infrastructure
06. Track system
Monitor load, capacity, prices, project pipelines, regulation, grid congestion, and technology costs
05. Define investments
Prioritize generation, networks, storage, customer solutions, technology, and portfolio actions
02. Trace transition
Examine electrification, renewable build-out, grid constraints, storage, policy, demand, and market design
03. Assess position
Evaluate asset mix, generation economics, network exposure, customer base, project pipeline, and capital needs
04. Model pathways
Test demand, generation mix, power prices, policy, capacity, technology, and grid scenarios
How we help
Support power-sector companies in allocating capital and reshaping portfolios as electricity demand grows faster than critical infrastructure can expand
We help utilities, generators, renewable developers and infrastructure investors assess markets, demand and system constraints; evaluate generation, grid, storage and flexibility opportunities; and prioritize long-duration investment. Support can include portfolio strategy, project economics, market entry, operating-model transformation, partnerships, regulatory scenarios and M&A. The work connects individual asset decisions with system-level needs so growth reflects where power systems require capacity, networks or flexibility rather than simply where technology deployment is increasing.
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Utility strategy
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Generation portfolio strategy
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Renewable energy growth strategy
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Renewable project development
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Grid strategy
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Grid modernization
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Energy storage strategy
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Power market strategy
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Electricity retail strategy
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Utility customer transformation
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Distributed energy strategy
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Demand flexibility strategy
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Grid connection strategy
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Utility capital allocation
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Energy trading strategy
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Utility operating efficiency
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Asset management transformation
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Utility resilience strategy
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Utility AI adoption
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Energy transition scenario planning
Explore our FAQs
Find answers to the most common questions about this service, including key features, processes, and practical considerations. Explore our FAQs for additional insights and guidance.
Electrification, renewables, storage, grid investment and policy are changing generation, network and customer economics.
Use scenarios reflecting electrification, data centers and efficiency rather than extrapolating historical load patterns.
Insufficient transmission or distribution can delay generation, demand connections and investment even when underlying economics are attractive.
Assess resource quality, power prices, grid access, curtailment and financing rather than headline generation cost alone.
Storage can provide flexibility and balancing where system needs and market economics justify its duration and operating profile.
Prioritize assets by reliability, safety and system consequence rather than replacing equipment mainly according to age.
Low-cost generation, flexibility, grid access and disciplined capital deployment will matter as power systems become more complex.
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