Data center growth is reshaping how utilities and grid operators plan, forecast, and procure power, often faster than legacy processes can keep up with. This session moves beyond the abstract AI conversation and grounds it in real operational workflows.
PCI Energy Solutions will walk through how embedded AI tools support load forecasting, automated bid generation, and battery dispatch optimization for utilities and large energy buyers navigating this growth. Entergy will bring the utility perspective, sharing how its resource planning team is approaching planning and procurement as large loads grow.
Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of what data center-driven load growth means for their planning, trading, and procurement decisions, and what tools and strategies are already being used to manage it.
- How data center load growth is changing utility planning and procurement
- How embedded AI supports forecasting, automated bidding, and battery dispatch
- How a utility resource planning team is approaching large-load growth
- Practical steps to prepare for this shift now
About the presenters:Â
Bryan Kelly: Bryan Kelly, PCI’s Sr. Vice President of Enterprise Products & Optimization, guides the product strategy for PCI’s product portfolio. He oversees the PCI Platform roadmap by directing Solution and Delivery teams and collaborating with customers and industry partners. Bryan has over 15 years of PCI experience designing, developing, and implementing software systems for energy utilities. Before joining PCI, Bryan worked as a global product manager responsible for marketing and product development of generation management systems in deregulated markets throughout North America and EPAC.
Daniel Boratko: Daniel Boratko joined Entergy’s System Planning & Operations organization in 2014 as an Analyst and has since held various roles in Entergy’s long-term planning department. In his current role as Manager of Resource Planning & Market Analytics, Daniel is responsible for providing planning and analytical services to the Entergy Operating companies to support their resource planning processes, including Integrated Resource Planning, requests for proposal economic evaluations, and regulatory filings for generation projects. He is also responsible for certain aspects of Entergy’s participation in MISO’s stakeholder process. Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Aaron Larson: Aaron Larson joined the POWER team in September 2013 as an associate editor and was named executive editor in 2017. Aaron has a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering technology and a master’s degree, specializing in finance. He spent 13 years in the U.S. Navy nuclear power program, advancing to Chief Petty Officer. He has worked at commercial nuclear, biomass, and coal-fired power plants, functioning in operations, maintenance, safety, financial, and management capacities. Aaron holds a Chief A Engineer boiler operator license in the state of Minnesota.