Panelists Share Dueling Visions of Energy Grid in AI Race
As big tech bring their own energy supply to data centers, will the electric grid suffer?
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2026 – Changes to the way electricity is being transmitted on the grid was much on the mind of the two hyperscalers, Amazon and Google, participating in the last panel of the day at the INCOMPAS Policy Summit on Thursday.
Broadband Breakfast
Ray Fakhoury, policy manager for Amazon Web Services, noted that companies investing in AI infrastructure seek “clarity and reliability” of power, while taking into account the local communities they operate in.
Fakhoury noted that while companies are taking on building direct energy sources for AI centers, he said that new data centers provide the opportunity for the nation to upgrade an aging electrical grid for the benefit of the communities served by it.
In particular, he said power generation should remain in a “front of the meter” position, i.e., attached to the power grid.
“The challenge we’re facing is creating two separate grids,”Fakhoury said. “If we focus on large users just have their own on-site power, a symptom that is now an antiquated grid that's underutilized and underinvested in for the last 30 years.”
Fakhoury also reaffirmed Amazon’s commitment to operating net zero carbon emissions across the company’s global operations by 2040.
Marsden Hanna, head of energy and sustainability policy at Google, agreed with the idea of strengthening the grid and improving transmission capacity.
Transmission construction, he said, is one of the biggest bottlenecks to getting data centers up and running, noting that utilities should be incentivized to make upgrades.
Hanna cited the “High Capacity Grid Act,” a bill that would require FERC to “establish a best-available transmission conductor standard, requiring utilities to use the highest-capacity, highest-efficiency, and lowest-sage commercially available conductors for interstate transmission” as a good step.
China and the Clean Water Act
Liz Bowman, vice president of government affairs at Williams, a natural gas energy provider, strongly advocated for her company’s form of energy as the primary power source for AI-driven data centers. She highlighted its abundant availability and the speed of standing up power plants, particularly versus nuclear power.
While other long term priorities like strengthening the grid are important, Bowman said she believed winning the AI race was essential.
“We have to take a look at the moment we’re in right now,” she said. The country is currently in “a real race against China.”
Bowman took aim at the Clean Water Act, specifically its Section 401 which requires environmental review for construction projects and their effects on water quality. The provision stands in the way of opening up untapped reservoirs of natural gas.
Member discussion