Our 2025 Year in Review

2025 has been another pivotal year for the utility and energy sector.

Looking back over the past twelve months, the pace of change has been nothing short of dizzying. A few themes stood out in particular.

These highlights only scratch the surface, but together they point to a sector that is more complex, more interconnected, and changing faster than ever.

We’re proud to work alongside energy companies across Canada and the U.S. as they navigate this transformation and build systems that are cleaner, smarter, and more resilient.

Here’s to another year of progress and to what 2026 will bring.

Energy affordability moves to center stage

Affordability has always been a defining priority for utilities, regulators, and policymakers alike. What is particularly notable right now is how elections are increasingly being won and lost on the cost of electricity. This reality could start to shift policy and market rules. It could also make expected load and revenue growth more challenging than many anticipate.

Data centers reshape the load growth narrative

AI-driven demand is pushing systems into a new era of infrastructure planning. The challenge now is balancing economic opportunity with system constraints and determining who bears the risk of building infrastructure for load that may or may not materialize.

Regional cooperation gains momentum

Provinces and states are showing renewed interest in shared planning, balancing, and infrastructure where it can improve reliability and resiliency while lowering costs. In Canada, north–south interconnections further tie us into broader continental dynamics, making long-term supply security a growing focus of strategic planning.

Indigenous ownership and leadership is key

Developers looking to build energy infrastructure in Canada without Indigenous equity or leadership will be left wondering why their projects can’t get off the ground. This is now table stakes in Canada.

Natural gas remains essential for the future

The conversation has shifted from if natural gas has a future to how it continues to support the system. Few signals are clearer than the significant backlog of orders for new gas turbines.

Supply chains are a defining constraint

From transformers and transmission equipment to turbines, procurement delays and bottlenecks are now shaping project timelines and costs. Capacity additions are increasingly constrained not just by policy or capital, but by what can physically be built.

Battery projects are finally economic

Batteries are not the solution to all capacity woes on the electric grid, but they are finally economic at grid scale in more applications. They can expand capacity quickly at existing sites, bolster reliability, and support ancillary services. Expect many more battery projects to come forward in rapid succession.

Capacity market designs are under scrutiny

Many jurisdictions are questioning whether current capacity auctions are delivering the signals needed to drive new investment. This has sparked deeper discussions around incentives, participation rules, long-term alignment, and the treatment of large load interconnections.

Demand side flexibility continues to trend

Demand-side flexibility remains an important tool for managing peaks. However, whether data centers can (or even want to) deliver the flexibility being discussed remains an open question.

Rate design innovation accelerates

With continued growth in DERs, electrification, and new tariff structures for large loads, utilities, regulators, and policy makers are rethinking pricing to better reflect system needs and enable customer participation.

Nuclear moves from theoretical to actionable

For those who asked why nuclear wasn’t on my list last year, I still stand by that call. This year feels different. From SMR commitments to policy alignment, nuclear has emerged as a serious pillar of future clean, firm supply. Just don’t expect it to be built quickly, cheaply or anywhere outside of existing licensed sites.