Wolf&Grayson EditorialAs businesses confront rising energy prices that outpace inflation, many are discovering that traditional cost-control tactics no longer hold up. To navigate this new reality, leaders are turning to experts who understand both the mechanics of the grid and the economic forces shaping it. Among them, Tad W. Piper, stands out for his ability to translate complex energy dynamics into actionable strategy. His work spans virtual power plants, demand response design, regulatory strategy, and commercial operations for some of the most sophisticated energy and infrastructure organizations in North America.
“Energy can be a strategic lever for resilience, growth, and innovation,” Piper says. He believes companies must move beyond seeing energy as a fixed expense and start treating it as a controllable driver of cost and risk.
Seeing the Grid Through the Utility’s Eyes
For large energy users, one of the biggest barriers to securing power is a misunderstanding of how utilities interpret their requests. A business that asks for 200 or 500 megawatts delivered without interruption may assume this is a straightforward transaction. Utilities hear something different: major infrastructure expansion, multiyear build timelines, and billions of dollars that must be recovered through higher rates.
“The first step is understanding what the other side is facing,” Piper says. “If you walk in asking for uninterrupted power, the utility sees new generation, new poles and wires, and unavoidable cost increases for their customers.”
This disconnect slows negotiations and can push promising projects into gridlock. Piper works with leadership teams to shift their posture from fixed requirements to collaborative problem-solving. Flexibility, he argues, is the gateway to progress. Companies that demonstrate willingness to modify load patterns, offer curtailment capabilities, or provide on-site resources position themselves as partners rather than burdens. That shift alone can accelerate approvals and open more favorable contracting pathways.
Why Better Utilization Beats Bigger Infrastructure
The grid’s tightest constraints appear only in bursts. Companies that plan around those moments gain faster approvals, reduced exposure, and stronger negotiating positions. Shifting or trimming load during these high‑risk windows signals to utilities that a company will not push the system past its limits.
That cooperation lowers perceived risk and shortens the path to approval. A modest production adjustment, a four‑hour battery window, or a curtailment strategy can mimic the benefit of new generation without waiting years for infrastructure.
Most assume the grid is constantly strained, but it is more often the opposite. Because it is engineered for extreme scenarios rather than everyday demand, it spends much of the year operating comfortably below its limits. That means the real opportunity comes from how companies operate during the rare moments when the system is under strain, not from how much total energy they consume.
These moments drive decisions about whether infrastructure must expand and whether utilities approve or delay new load. “Timing, not volume, is what moves the needle,” Piper says. Adjusting when energy is used often produces far greater impact than reducing total consumption.
A Playbook for Companies Seeking Control
For leaders in sectors most exposed to energy volatility, Piper distills the path forward into four categories of action:
1. Design operations with flexibility when conditions warrant it, particularly for facilities whose loads can safely ramp up or down without jeopardizing production.
2. Shift production or facility schedules outside of high‑risk windows, especially for plants with predictable cycles or multi‑shift operations
3. Deploy batteries to bridge critical hours without drawing from the grid, a common fit for data centers, logistics depots, and round‑the‑clock operations.
4. Implement on‑site generation to reduce dependency and increase negotiable leverage, especially for campuses or industrial users with steady, high baseload demand
Market incentives must evolve as well. For grids managing infrastructure constraints, reducing demand during peak stress is functionally equivalent to generating new capacity. Pricing structures should reflect that parity.
Regulations Are Changing Fast, and Flexibility Is Now Expected
As load growth accelerates, regulators are introducing rules that push large‑demand customers toward greater flexibility, signaling a clear shift toward price‑responsive demand, where economic signals guide behavior in addition to fixed directives. Texas passed Senate Bill 6 for loads over 50 megawatts. PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission operator serving much of the East Coast, has advanced Bring Your Own Capacity and Non-capacity Backed Loads proposals. The Southwest Power Pool introduced Large Load Ride Through requirements.
All of them share a goal: ensuring that heavy users can support the system when called upon. “You can fight these regulations, but that usually leads to a pathway to no,” Piper says, encouraging companies to shift the conversation from resistance to clarity by outlining how, when, and under what conditions they can adjust usage.
Traditional data centers often struggle in this environment because they were built for unwavering uptime, not dynamic operation. Piper works with these organizations to pinpoint which parts of their load can be flexible and dispatchable and how to quantify the real opportunity cost of adjusting. “Large loads need to look and feel like generation assets that respond,” he says.
Charting a Smarter Energy Future
Energy volatility is a defining business constraint, and leaders who understand the mechanics of the grid can convert that constraint into a competitive edge. For Piper, the companies that embrace flexibility now will be the ones best positioned to secure reliable power, manage costs, and navigate a landscape that is shifting faster than many realize.
Piper’s work continues to show that with the right strategy, energy is not just something to endure. It is something companies can shape, and use to strengthen their future.
Connect with Tad W. Piper on LinkedIn, or visit his website, for more insights.
