2026 TOP UTILITIES: Feeling the Surge

Will the ever-increasing number of data centers and swell of transmission and generation projects that follow ever slow down? According to Deloitte’s 2026 Power and Utilities Industry Outlook, the answer is a large and resounding “nope.”

By 2035, data center energy demand could reach 176 gigawatts (GW), five times more than it was in 2024. Industrial electrification has the potential to add 25 GW of demand within the next four years. Peak demand, according to Deloitte’s analysis, is expected to grow by about 26% in the next decade. Widespread electrification, the proliferation of AI and general consumption by households and commercial entities drive up demand, and though utility companies are certainly feeling it, many are rising to the occasion.

Each year, Site Selection recognizes the Top Utilities in economic development based on corporate end-user project activity in their territories, measured by cumulative and per-capita corporate end-user capital investment and project-affiliated job creation data. Information is gathered by the Site Selection research team from an annual questionnaire in addition to our staff’s research into utilities with active economic development departments.

Here, presented in alphabetical order within U.S. regions organized by highest number of Top Utilities, is the Class of 2026, representing the companies that received the highest marks for economic development performance.

Alabama Power Company
Birmingham, Alabama
Shane Kearney, Director, Economic & Community Development
www.amazingalabama.com

Corporate facility investment: $5 billion
Jobs created: 1,099
Population and territory: Alabama Power Company has over 86,000 miles of power lines that serve 3.2 million people in the southern two-thirds of Alabama.

Highlights: At the close of 2025, APC achieved a major milestone in advancing the state’s digital infrastructure by turning over more than 1,000 miles of fiber to the Alabama Fiber Network, enabling the completion of Alabama’s first middle-mile backbone fiber network and expanding broadband access statewide. Originally supported through a 2022 grant to the Alabama Fiber Network, APC’s fiber assets accounted for more than 50% of the total middle-mile network. APC also secured a second 300-mile fiber contract with a hyperscale customer to connect data centers in key markets across Alabama and Georgia. APC was approved for 260 megawatts (MW) of new solar projects under the Renewable Subscription Program, enabling customers to access utility-scale renewable energy. APC also supports the commercialization of startup companies, initiating the PilotAL program, sponsored by Innovate Alabama and operated by EDPA. The APC Innovation Development team has engaged EDOs in rural communities to expand rural innovation development, leading to Big Canoe Creek Preserve Partners, the City of Anniston, LaFayette Main Street, St. Clair County Commission and the Walker Area Community Foundation applying for their initial Innovate Alabama Network Designations. Last year, construction started at the Alabama Mobility and Power (AMP) Battery Research Center, a pilot-scale facility supporting electrode production and pouch cell development. The AMP Power Research Lab, which will enhance capabilities in grid resiliency, microgrids and advanced power systems research, neared completion. The AMP Center in Tuscaloosa was launched in 2021 by APC, the University of Alabama and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International.

Cleco Power
Pineville, Louisiana
Richard Cornelison, Director, Marketing & Economic Development
www.clecodev.com

Corporate facility investment: $400 million
Jobs created: 3,500
Population and territory: Cleco serves 24 parishes across Louisiana with a population of 379,000.

Highlights: Cleco Power started working on a five-year resiliency plan in May 2026, which will involve over 550 projects that will strengthen systemwide grid infrastructure and reduce storm-related costs and outages. The power company, in partnership with Development Counsellors International (DCI), also launched Ted AI, an economic development-specific chatbot modernizing how site selectors and companies access location intelligence across Cleco’s 24-parish Louisiana service territory. The AI platform delivers instant, verified answers by pulling directly from Cleco’s data on rate structures, infrastructure, workforce, site specifications and incentives. Cleco Power will deliver power to a new $3.6 billion data center to be built by Applied Digital in Rapides Parish, the first project by the Texas-based company in the southern United States. “This is the largest economic development opportunity in Cleco’s 90-plus year history and reflects the region’s growing competitive position for major infrastructure and technology investments,” said Cleco President and CEO Bill Fontenot when the AI factory was announced in May 2026. “This investment reflects the potential that many of us here in Central Louisiana have long known existed, and we see it as the beginning of even greater possibilities for our region. Cleco is proud to support transformative investments, like the data center project, that deliver meaningful economic impact while maintaining the affordability, reliability and value our customers expect and deserve.”

Entergy Corporation
New Orleans, Louisiana
Shantel Johnson, Senior Manager – Marketing
goentergy.com

Corporate facility investment: $83.5 billion
Jobs created: 7,564
Population and territory: The population of Entergy territory is 7,660,570 across 63 counties in Arkansas, 58 parishes in Louisiana, 45 counties in Mississippi and 27 counties in Texas.

Highlights: In 2025, Entergy continued to strengthen site readiness efforts across Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana by advancing rigorous certification programs and enhancing the inventory of market‑ready industrial sites, including support for the Bernice Industrial Park in Louisiana. Entergy also is planning nearly $13 billion to build 10 natural gas plants to fuel Meta’s hyperscale data center buildout in the state. In April 2026, Entergy finalized a service agreement to power Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel’s $5.8 billion low-carbon steel mill to be built at the RiverPlex MegaPark in Donaldsonville. Entergy Arkansas advanced its STEM and career‑readiness partnerships, including the Academies of Central Arkansas. Entergy Texas maintained support for the Community Development Institute Texas, enhancing regional professional capacity. Entergy New Orleans collaborated with education and workforce partners to expand training and economic opportunity initiatives. A new initiative launched in 2025 was Entergy Louisiana’s Louisiana 100 Plan, a long-term strategy designed to attract $100 billion in new industrial investment and support the creation of 100,000 new jobs over the next decade. Entergy Arkansas also advanced implementation of the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act Rider, providing greater certainty that generation and transmission investments can be delivered on timelines required by large industrial projects. Entergy’s Site Selection Center, a comprehensive database application that helps consultants, economic developers and companies quickly identify and evaluate industrial properties across the company’s service territory, remains one of the company’s most valuable resources for site searches.

El Paso Electric
El Paso, Texas
Eric Montgomery, Director of Economic Development
www.epelectric.com

Corporate facility investment: $166 million
Jobs created: 6,081
Population and territory: El Paso Electric’s service area constitutes 10,000 square miles of the Borderplex region in West Texas and South-Central New Mexico along the US-Mexico border.

Highlights: Projects and planning are at the forefront of EPE’s strategy to meet demand and grow operations. In January 2026, the utility proposed a $473 million gas plant that, if approved, will be built on 31 acres in northeastern El Paso to power Meta’s nearby $1.5 billion data center. EPE is also replacing 299 structures under its Springerville 345-kV rebuild project in Macho Springs, New Mexico. The company will also build a new 115-kV Transmission Line in El Paso County, Texas, connecting the Eastwind Substation and Rattlesnake Substation in the same county. EPE continued to strengthen its role as a proactive economic development partner in 2025, with a particular focus on site readiness and transparency for large-load customers. EPE advanced site readiness efforts across its service territory, supporting the evaluation and positioning of key industrial parcels. This work has been focused on bringing greater clarity to infrastructure availability, development constraints and timelines, helping communities and site selectors move more quickly and confidently through the early stages of project evaluation. At the same time, EPE formalized and published a large power user process, creating a clear and transparent pathway for evaluating high-load projects.

LG&E and KU Energy LLC
Louisville, Kentucky
John Bevington, Senior Director, Business & Economic Development
www.lge-ku.com

Corporate facility investment: $5.6 billion
Jobs created: 4,574
Population and territory: Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve 1.3 million customers in a territory populated by 3.5 million people.

Highlights: In 2025, LG&E and KU played a key role in advancing Kentucky’s economic growth through close collaboration with state and local partners, delivering reliable energy, competitive costs and comprehensive project support. The companies supported a diverse mix of industries and continued to expand OpportunityKY, a platform focused on site readiness, marketing and business attraction. This included over $500,000 in 2025 grant funding (and $2.5 million since inception) to improve site competitiveness as well as more than $2 million in bill credits supporting job creation and business expansion. “Economic development successes across our service territories reflect the strength and diversity of Kentucky’s economy, spanning advanced manufacturing, electric vehicle battery production, logistics and distribution, healthcare, metals, food and beverage processing, agritech and bourbon production,” says John Bevington, vice president of customer service for LG&E and KU. “To further support business growth and investment, we continued to advance Opportunity Kentucky, an integrated platform that connects site selectors, consultants and prospective companies with the resources they need to succeed while reinforcing our commitment to strong communities and economic prosperity.” Notably, in October 2025, LG&E and KU was approved to build natural gas facilities to power data centers seeking to locate in Kentucky. The two combined-cycle gas-fired combustion turbines will each have a capacity of 645 MW, cost nearly $2.8 billion to build and will be built at the Mill Creek Generating Station in Jefferson County and the E.W. Brown Generating Station in Mercer County.

PowerSouth Energy Cooperative
Andalusia, Alabama
Taylor Williams, Vice President, External Affairs
powersouth.com

Corporate facility investment: $2 billion
Jobs created: 2,340
Population and territory: PowerSouth serves 39 counties in south Alabama and 10 counties in northwest Florida with a population of approximately 1 million.

Highlights: PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, in addition to its deep work in local economic and site development, also announced a major project in mid-2026 — the expansion of its Lowman Energy Center (LEC) in Leroy, Alabama. The utility will partner with Mitsubishi Power Americas to add on an advanced-class gas turbine, with Burns & McDonnell providing engineering, procurement and construction services. “PowerSouth is grateful to have a strong professional relationship with valued industry partners like Mitsubishi Power and Burns & McDonnell,” said Damon Morgan, PowerSouth president and CEO, when the expansion was announced. “Our distribution members, and the members at the end of the line — they need reliable power at the most affordable cost possible. As a generation and transmission cooperative, it is our mission to provide that power to homes, schools, organizations, businesses and industries across our service area. The expansion of LEC is crucial to our mission, and our strong ties with industry leaders keep us well-positioned to address the challenges of the future.” Since the Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy Act’s (SEEDS) inception in 2023, PowerSouth has assisted local economic development organizations on 36 projects with over $29 million awarded to local communities for site development. The utility and its member-cooperatives have also participated in USDA-RD Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant (REDLG) programs, acting as an intermediary for more than $31.9 million in USDA-RD funding across 70 eligible projects, supporting the generation of nearly 4,500 new jobs and representing nearly $200 million in new capital investment.

South Carolina Power Team
Columbia, South Carolina
James Chavez, President & CEO
www.scpowerteam.com

Corporate facility investment: $3.695 billion
Jobs created: 3,719
Population and territory: South Carolina Power serves customers in South Carolina, a region with 3.6 million residents.

Highlights: In 2025, South Carolina Power Team’s efforts resulted in 27 project announcements across 15 of its 19 electric cooperative territories, with several cooperatives celebrating multiple announcements. The South Carolina Power Team Board of Trustees reinforced its commitment to industrial product development in 2025 by approving guideline revisions that included increasing the fund to $12 million, incrementally through 2028. These revisions also increased participation limits to $4 million or four open grants per cooperative, up from $3 million and three open grants, respectively. Through 2025, the electric cooperatives have committed nearly $72 million through 57 grants. Combined with local matching funds and additional grants, this investment totals more than $330 million to support the development of market-ready industrial product across South Carolina. The South Carolina Power Team Board of Trustees approved a long-term workforce development program to address negative perceptions of careers in the skilled trades. Officially launching in fall 2026, a long-term workforce development program will be led by South Carolina Power Team in collaboration with the local electric cooperatives to increase opportunities in skilled trades through educational programming. Key audiences of the initiative include seventh-grade students and their trusted adults, underemployed individuals and unofficial community leaders. In 2025, the South Carolina Power Team Board of Trustees approved the first two projects under the Cooperative Loan Fund, which was created to support job creation and retention, community enhancement and electric load growth within South Carolina electric cooperative service territories for distribution and retail cooperative members, local governments and local or regional economic development organizations.

Southeast Gas
Andalusia, Alabama
Vince Perez, Director of Economic Development
southeastgas.com/economic-development

Corporate facility investment: $2.3 billion
Jobs created: 1,948
Population and territory: Southeast Gas serves over 33,000 customers across 19 counties and 36 communities in southeastern Alabama.

Highlights: Alabama’s first renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility started service in New Brockton, Alabama, in August 2025. The project was developed by Southeast Gas, along with NextEra Energy and Coffee County Landfill, with the facility capturing and converting landfill waste methane into purified RNG that can be used in public utility pipelines. In 2025, Southeast Gas achieved a landmark safety milestone, surpassing 500,000 safe working hours. The effort began in October 2024, and after more than a year of sustained, company-wide commitment to protecting employees, the milestone was completed in late 2025. The company reported zero workplace incidents during the 2025 calendar year. Southeast Gas also played a key role in assisting six communities with SEEDS Round 3 applications, resulting in awards totaling $2.3 million. These awards included three development grants and three assessment grants, further driving economic development and environmental progress in the region. The Southeast Gas Economic and Community Development team distributed $164,000 in Community Betterment Funds to 14 communities within its service territory in 2025, with contributions designed to enhance local infrastructure, public services and quality of life.

Tennessee Valley Authority
Nashville, Tennessee
Joanna Muscatello, Coordinator, Global Business
tvasites.com

Corporate facility investment: $6.6 billion
Jobs created: 9,316
Population and territory: With 16 metropolitan statistical areas, TVA’s 80,000-square-mile service region covers all of Tennessee and portions of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia, with 10 million people in that territory between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Mississippi River.

Highlights: Home to renowned research institutions like the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Center for Bioenergy Innovation, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) region has experienced significant growth in the nuclear sector recently, with companies such as BWXT Enrichment, Oklo Inc., Orano, Centrus Energy and Kairos Power announcing operations investments. TVA announced strategic partnerships with innovative companies like ENTRA1, Kairos Power and Google aimed at accelerating the deployment of next-generation advanced nuclear technologies. In May 2026, nuclear energy reached 41% of TVA’s power supply. TVA is also working with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy to develop small modular reactors at an unfinished nuclear plant in Bellefonte, Alabama, and at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The TVA’s total investment amount in the Clinch River project stands at $350 million. In Roane County, the TVA is building the 1,500-MW Kingston Energy Complex, a multisource power generation hub that will replace the Kingston Fossil Plant, which ran on coal. The new Kingston project will have enough energy to power more than 878,000 homes. TVA also recently completed the initial test-fire of new combustion turbines in summer 2026 at its 1,450-MW combined-cycle Cumberland facility in Stewart County, Tennessee. The $2.1 billion Cumberland project is expected to begin operations in late 2026.

Alliant Energy
Madison, Wisconsin
Dennis Jordan, Director of Customer, Community and Economic Development
alliantenergy.com

Corporate facility investment: $12.2 billion
Jobs created: 1,224
Population and territory: Alliant Energy serves approximately 1 million electric and 430,000 natural gas customers across Iowa and Wisconsin.

Highlights: Last year, Alliant Energy received approval to build a 720-MW natural gas power plant in Marshalltown, Iowa, dubbed the Bobcat Energy Center, that will sit adjacent to Alliant’s existing 650-MW Marshalltown Generating Station. The company also filed an application in January 2026 with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to start construction on the Columbia Wind Project, a 277-MW wind farm in Columbia County. In development for almost five years, Columbia Wind is expected to include more than 40 wind turbines and will partner with over 300 landowners. The project is expected to produce more than $40 million in county tax revenue and will produce enough energy to power 100,000 homes annually once operational in late 2028. Alliant Energy has 1,800 MW of wind power capacity across Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. “Across Iowa and Wisconsin, we are helping communities prepare for growth by investing in energy infrastructure, supporting business expansion and working alongside economic development partners to attract new opportunities,” says Dennis Jordan, director of Customer Community & Economic Development. “Every project represents more than economic investment. It represents jobs, strengthened local economies and a brighter future for the people and communities we serve. We’re proud to play a role in advancing responsible growth that benefits customers and communities alike.” Two of Alliant Energy’s battery energy storage systems — a facility in Saratoga, Wisconsin, and one in Lee County, Iowa — are now operational and storing electricity generated by nearby solar fields. Alliant Energy will also deliver power to Meta’s $1 billion data center in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, announced in November 2025.

American Electric Power
Columbus, Ohio
Timothy J. Wells, Vice President, Sales, Economic and Business
aep.com/economic-development

Corporate facility investment: $8.1 billion
Jobs created: 6,552
Population and territory: American Electric Power (AEP) delivers services to 12.4 million people in a 200,000 square-mile service area that covers nearly 350 counties in 11 states (Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia) served by seven electric utility operating companies.

Highlights: In 2025, AEP and its seven operating companies (AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power [APCO], Indiana Michigan Power [I&M], Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma [PSO] and Southwestern Electric Power Company [SWEPCO]) advanced a wide range of economic development programs and project activity that strengthened site readiness, improved transparency for large-load customers and supported industrial growth across the company’s multistate footprint. AEP Ohio continued implementing its Economic Development Plan, approved as part of its 2024-2028 Electric Security Plan, focused on driving investment in rural and distressed communities. AEP Texas introduced a new “Electricity 101” training initiative for economic development corporations across its service territory, equipping local partners with a stronger understanding of electric infrastructure, capacity requirements and development timelines and enabling them to more effectively compete for a diverse range of projects. APCO supported site readiness, land transactions and construction of a new 345-kV substation for Nucor’s $4 billion sheet steel mill in West Virginia and acquired the 204 MW Top Hat Wind Facility in Illinois. I&M launched the “Future Ready Site Accelerator” program, partnering with local communities to identify development gaps and providing actionable recommendations to bring sites to development-ready standards. PSO supported one of the largest economic development projects announced in Oklahoma, a $4 billion aluminum smelter by Emirates Global Aluminium and Century Aluminum. In Marshall, Texas, SWEPCO launched its first grid enhancement project supported by the Texas Energy Fund, part of a $200 million grant from the Public Utility Commission of Texas that seeks to modernize electric infrastructure and increase power reliability.

ComEd — An Exelon Company
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Ed Sitar, Senior Manager, Economic Development
www.comed.com

Corporate facility investment: $13.75 billion
Jobs created: 2,220
Population and territory: ComEd serves 10 million people in northern Illinois, including the Chicago metro area, with an 11,000-square-mile service territory spanning the upper third of Illinois, comprising more than 400 municipalities and 70% of the state’s population.

Highlights: ComEd has seen growth in solar penetration and electrification in its service territory. The company now has more than 85,000 solar systems and related energy storage facilities connected to its system, including nearly 300 community solar sites, with over 58,000 subscribers. Total installed solar capacity is more than 1,700 MW and community solar has enabled more than 30,000 residential customers to receive credits on their electric bill without installing solar panels on their homes. ComEd powered and expanded a 765-kV transmission interconnection substation near Joliet that enabled five new wind energy and two solar energy projects to connect to the ComEd and PJM Interconnection’s transmission network, totaling 2,450 MW. ComEd has also continued its three-year, $231 million beneficial electrification rebate program, which has incentivized the purchase and installation of nearly 9,800 public and private EV charging ports and the purchase or lease of nearly 3,300 new and pre-owned electric fleet vehicles. In September 2025, ComEd and Stream Data Centers broke ground on ComEd’s new substation in Elk Grove Village, which will support the data center company’s third facility in the area — a 1.2-million-sq.-ft. hyperscale facility comprising three buildings and expected to be operational in 2027. ComEd also focuses on workforce development in the construction and energy sectors, operating CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy in partnership with nearly 50 construction and utility employers; Power Up Academy, which is building a high-performing pipeline of diverse talent for the clean energy economy; and CONSTRUCT Youth Academy, which focuses on delivering hands-on programming to high school juniors and seniors for in-demand careers in the energy sector. CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy is ComEd’s flagship adult training program and prepares participants for entry-level utility and construction careers through an intensive 11-week curriculum that combines industry test preparation, employer engagement and job readiness training.

Consumers Energy
Jackson, Michigan
Valerie Christofferson, Director of Economic Development
www.consumersenergy.com/econdev

Corporate facility investment: $4.9 billion
Jobs created: 4,495
Population and territory: The principal subsidiary of CMS Energy Corporation, Consumers Energy offers electric and/or natural gas service to residents in all 68 counties in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, which has a population of 6.8 million.

Highlights: “Michigan’s future is being built today, and Consumers Energy is proud to help lead that transformation,” says Valerie Christofferson, Consumers Energy’s director of growth strategy and execution. “Every new project, job and investment represents an opportunity to strengthen communities like Grand Rapids and improve quality of life across our state. That’s why we’ve adopted a ‘get to YES’ approach — bringing together diverse energy expertise, expanded economic development resources and deep community partnerships to help businesses succeed. As we invest in the reliable, affordable energy systems needed for tomorrow’s growth, we’re positioning Michigan to compete for the world’s most innovative companies while creating lasting value for the customers and communities we serve.” Early in 2025, Consumers Energy launched a new, expanded Growth team. Formerly known as the economic development team, the Growth team doubled its size and formed a holistic all-in approach to organizational structure that more robustly and speedily addresses every aspect of Growth — in energy and beyond — according to a multitude of stakeholders’ needs and interests. Consumers Energy also became the first U.S.-based utility company to join SEMI, a global industry association uniting the semiconductor ecosystem with the broader electronics manufacturing and design supply chain. The company also engages with industry association leaders like the Industrial Asset Management Council, Center for Automotive Research and Mich-Auto. In 2025, Consumers Energy completed almost 2,700 electric distribution reliability projects, part of the company’s Reliability Roadmap. A new solar array in Northeast Michigan was announced by Consumers in September 2025, a 335-MW site dubbed “Gustin Solar” that will generate enough electricity to power 60,000 homes once operations start by July 2029. Last year, Consumers Energy actively added to and promoted the state’s MI Sites program, a site readiness program designed to build a strong portfolio of development-ready industrial sites across Michigan.

Dominion Energy
Richmond, Virginia
Jen Kostyniuk, Senior Director of Economic Development
www.dominionenergy.com

Corporate facility investment: $7.4 billion
Jobs created: 3,640
Population and territory: Dominion Energy serves Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, with a population comprising 3.6 million people.

Highlights: Dominion Energy’s more than $11 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, located 27 miles off Virginia Beach, is expected to reach completion by late 2027. The 2.6-GW wind farm first delivered electricity to the regional grid in March 2026 and will have the ability to power up to 660,000 homes. The company is also requesting approval from state regulators for 11 solar and battery projects, which will cost $2.9 billion to build. Middlesex and Richmond Counties may also see two energy storage sites from Dominion Energy. More solar projects from Dominion Energy in Virginia include a 300-MW solar facility, “Honeybee Solar,” which is under construction in Brunswick County and expected to begin operations in 2029. In Pittsylvania County, four separate solar facilities (Blue Ridge, Hopewell, Southern Virginia and Hillandale) will have a combined generation of 452.8 MW when all projects begin operations over the next three years. In terms of natural gas, Dominion Energy also announced plans for a 3-GW gas plant in Cumberland County, which is expected to start operations around 2033 or 2034. If approved by state and local regulators, the Cumberland gas facility will be the largest in the company’s Virginia portfolio and will be able to power 750,000 homes. Dominion Energy is also in the permitting process for the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center, which will include four natural gas-powered simple cycle turbines and be able to generate up to 1,000 MW. Notably, Florida-based NextEra Energy announced a $67 billion all-stock deal to acquire Dominion Energy in May 2026, merging the two companies in late 2027 if the completion of the transaction is allowed.

Duke Energy
Charlotte, North Carolina
Stu Heishman – Vice President, Economic Development
www.duke-energy.com/partner-with-us/economic-development

Corporate facility investment: $30 billion
Jobs created: 29,284
Population and territory: Duke Energy serves a territory that is home to 27 million people across 90,000 square miles of service area in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Highlights: Duke Energy will add more power to its territory, including a 1,365-MW combined-cycle plant in Anderson County, South Carolina, that is expected to start construction in mid-2027 and begin operations in early 2031. More combined-cycle natural gas facilities are planned or under construction by Duke Energy in Davie and Person Counties in North Carolina. The company is also evaluating fuel storage and reliability facilities in Davidson County in North Carolina, in partnership with Piedmont Natural Gas, which may include liquefied natural gas storage and an energy reliability center. “The pace of growth is unlike anything we’ve experienced before, and communities are working hard to position themselves for the opportunities ahead,” says Stu Heishman, vice president of economic development at Duke Energy. “Our role is to help them compete by advancing ready sites, strengthening partnerships and supporting projects that can drive lasting economic growth.” The Duke Energy Site Readiness program, which helps identify, assess, improve and increase awareness of industrial sites in the company’s territory, continues to bring in businesses and boost communities in the company’s six-state service territory, with 25 sites completing the Site Readiness Program in 2025 and increasing the portfolio of site readiness locations to 433 since the launch of the program in 2005. As a result of projects and companies that have located on a site that participated in the Site Readiness program, 71,000 jobs have been created and $74 billion in new capital has been invested in Duke Energy communities. “We’re building for the future,” adds Heishman.

“We’re building for the future.”

— Stu Heishman, Vice President of Economic Development, Duke Energy

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL)
Juno Beach, Florida
Cathy Chambers, Senior Director, Economic Development
www.poweringflorida.com

Corporate facility investment: $2.8 billion
Jobs created: 6,371
Population and territory: Florida Power & Light Company serves a population of 12 million in the state of Florida.

Highlights: Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) PoweringFlorida team worked with statewide economic development partners in 2025 to support projects representing more than $2.8 billion in capital investment and nearly 6,400 new jobs across Florida. Among the notable announcements were Williams International’s planned $1 billion aerospace manufacturing campus in Okaloosa County, Lupin Pharmaceuticals’ new $250 million advanced manufacturing facility in Coral Springs and Lockheed Martin’s expansion in Brevard County, which will create 300 high-wage jobs in the aerospace and defense industry. PoweringFlorida continued expanding the reach of its Florida First Sites program, which promotes vetted industrial properties across the state. “Companies choose Florida because of its talented workforce, strategic location and pro-business environment, and we’re proud to support those decisions by helping them meet their energy needs and invest with confidence,” says Cathy Chambers, executive director of economic development, FPL PoweringFlorida. “Through initiatives like our Florida First Sites program, we’re also helping companies and consultants more quickly identify industrial locations across the state. Together with our statewide partners, we’re committed to supporting projects that create jobs, strengthen communities and drive Florida’s long-term economic growth.” Companies evaluating Florida also benefit from one of the nation’s most reliable electric systems. In 2025, FPL achieved the lowest outage frequency in company history, with reliability approximately 67% better than the national average, supported by continued investments in grid hardening, undergrounding, smart-grid technology and transmission infrastructure.

Georgia Power
Atlanta, Georgia
Jennifer Zeller, Director, Strategic Solutions Team
www.SelectGeorgia.com | GrowGeorgia.com

Corporate facility investment: $8.7 billion
Jobs created: 18,076
Population and territory: Georgia Power provides electric service to more than 2.8 million customers in 155 of Georgia’s 159 counties.

Highlights: In the last three years, Georgia Power has invested $1.3 billion in grid improvements through its Grid Investment Program. Last year, 104 distribution system projects were completed under the Grid Investment Program and 25 major transmission projects advanced, including five transmission line upgrades and 20 substation enhancements, which has improved reliability for 504,000 customers. Grid improvement projects took place in the southwestern Atlanta area of Ben Hill, Stone Mountain and Wilmington Island in Savannah. In December 2025, the Georgia Public Service Commission unanimously voted to approve Georgia Power’s request to acquire almost 10 GW of new energy capacity to power future data centers in the state. Georgia Power plans to build five new methane gas-powered units at Plant Bowen in Bartow County, Plant McIntosh in Effingham County and Plant Wansley in Heard and Carroll Counties. “The trends having the greatest impact on Georgia Power’s economic development efforts today are all centered around one fundamental need: meeting the demand of unprecedented growth while still maintaining reliability and affordability,” says Jennifer Zeller, director of the Strategic Solutions Team at Georgia Power. “Georgia continues to benefit from the pro-business policies developed under the leadership of Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia General Assembly, whose consistent focus on maintaining a competitive business climate has helped ensure a strong pipeline of companies looking to invest in our state. That environment, combined with Georgia’s world-class workforce, infrastructure and collaborative economic development ecosystem, continues to position the state as a destination for growth.” Zeller adds that “the rapid expansion of advanced manufacturing, electrification and AI-driven data centers is fundamentally reshaping how utilities like ours plan for the future.” A new 35-mile, 500-kV transmission line will also run between the Ashley Park Substation in Fayette County and Plant Wansley in Heard County, passing through Fulton and Coweta Counties. The Ashley Park-Wansley project is expected to be complete in Q2 2028.

Arizona Public Service
Phoenix, Arizona
Kelly Patton, Economic Development Manager
www.aps.com

Corporate facility investment: $1.2 billion
Jobs created: 3,635
Population and territory: Arizona Public Service serves a population of 1.4 million people and homes and businesses in 11 of the state’s 15 counties.

Highlights: Arizona Public Service (APS) advanced several major projects and initiatives in 2025, including a new natural gas plant named the Desert Sun Power Plant to be developed west of Gila Bend. If approved, the project will add 2,000 MW to the state’s energy capacity. It is expected to start construction in 2028 and be completed in 2031. APS will also convert two units once powered by coal generation to natural gas at the Cholla Power Plant in Joseph City, located in northeast Arizona. This conversion would add about 380 MW of energy to the local supply, enough to power 61,000 homes. “Interest in the Arizona market remains high and APS continued to see stable levels of business activity across the state in 2025 with a steady inflow of manufacturing and warehouse inquiries driven by population growth, growing semiconductor industry and West Valley proximity to the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,” says Kelly Patton, APS manager of economic development. “Key industries evaluating Arizona continue to be semiconductor companies and their supply chain, food and beverage, electric vehicle, battery manufacturing and warehouse and logistics.” APS also offers many economic development programs and resources to local entities, including a collaboration with Next Move Group that provides tools for communities to address economic development needs such as prospecting, talent attraction, building and site development and board training. APS continues to operate SizeUp Arizona, giving small-to-medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs business intelligence-driven market research and data analytics to leverage in site selection and development decisions. APS also works with the Arizona Commerce Authority to provide the statewide license for Arizona Prospector, a commercial real estate database that offers up-to-date community and region-specific data on labor force, demographics, education levels and more, as well as available building and sites for commercial use.

“Cholla has been an important part of the communities of Joseph City, Holbrook, Navajo County and northeastern Arizona for decades and has been foundational to Arizona’s energy grid.”

— Johnny Penrod, Vice President of Generation, Arizona Public Service, on the company’s natural gas plant conversion in Joseph City, Arizona

Ameren Corporation
St. Louis, Missouri
James O’Mara, Sr. Manager, Economic Development, Ameren Missouri
Eric Whitfield, Director, Economic Development, Ameren Illinois
Ameren.com/ecdev

Corporate facility investment: $3.5 billion
Jobs created: 3,728
Population and territory: Ameren operates in a territory that spans central and southern Illinois and central to eastern Missouri, including the greater St. Louis metropolitan region, covering approximately 67,700 square miles across both states and serving 6.4 million people.

Highlights: In 2025, Ameren Illinois advanced targeted programs and services to improve site readiness, reduce uncertainty and accelerate speed to market for industrial and large-load projects. The company launched the Ameren Site Acceleration Program (ASAP) in partnership with the Illinois Economic Development Corporation and local communities, proactively preparing sites and enabling communities to present investment-ready sites and allowing site selectors to evaluate opportunities with greater speed and confidence. Ameren Illinois also enhanced its large load strategy and tariff framework to better support energy-intensive users by improving coordination, transparency and infrastructure planning for complex projects. Ameren Missouri received approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission for the Powering Missouri Growth Plan, designed to support new large enterprises, including data centers, while ensuring reasonable rates remain for all customers. A study from January 2026 conducted by HR&A Advisors and commissioned by Ameren estimated that the utility company’s operations had an annual economic output of more than $20.7 billion. Ameren Missouri is the provider for Amazon’s recently completed 61,000-sq.-ft. last-mile delivery station in the SEMO Industrial Park in Scott City, Missouri, and transformer manufacturer WEG Transformers USA’s $77 million manufacturing site expansion in Washington, Missouri. Ameren Illinois’ territory also gained several high-ticket and diverse projects last year, including co-manufacturer and private-label producer Western Smokehouse Partners, energy and telecom cable system company Prysmian Group and global supplier of copper products Wieland Metals.

PECO, an Exelon Company
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Glen Murphy, Senior Manager, Economic & Business Development
www.PECO.com

Corporate facility investment: $29.9 billion
Jobs created: 20,065
Population and territory: PECO serves a population of 4.1 million in the City of Philadelphia and four surrounding counties plus a portion of York County, Pennsylvania.

Highlights: PECO completed more than 250 reliability projects across its service area in 2025, installed 120 new reclosers and upgraded distribution infrastructure in the counties of Chester, Montgomery and Bucks. Several townships served by PECO saw robust improvements to their electrical supply equipment, part of the utility’s almost $10 billion, five-year plan to modernize and harden its electric and natural gas systems. Replaced poles, wires and transformers; reconfigured systems and vegetation management improvements in support of retiring aging substations took place in the townships of Lower Frederick, Limerick, Perkiomen, Skippack and in Schwenksville Borough. One of PECO’s key accomplishments was the launch of regional Economic Development and Energy Resource Forums designed to help developers, businesses, municipalities and economic development stakeholders better understand the resources available to successfully advance projects throughout the region. At PECO’s first forum in Bucks County, PECO assembled a diverse group of public and private-sector partners to provide attendees with a comprehensive view of the development resources available throughout Bucks County, with participants including representatives from the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County, the Bucks County Industrial Development Authority, Bucks County Workforce and Economic Development, Pennoni Engineering and ExCorde Capital.

PPL Electric Utilities
Allentown, Pennsylvania
John Bevington, Senior Director, Business & Economic Development
www.pplelectric.com/

Corporate facility investment: $12.8 billion
Jobs created: 1,775
Population and territory: PPL serves more than 1.5 million homes and businesses in Pennsylvania, with a population of 3.5 million.

Highlights: In March 2026, PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation, announced it would spend more than $8 billion on infrastructure improvements across its 29-county service territory in Pennsylvania. Grid modernization projects are planned to take place between 2026 and 2029. PPL Corporation and Blackstone Infrastructure announced they would team up in July 2025 to build gas power plants in Pennsylvania. In June 2026, PPL followed through on that plan with Blackstone Infrastructure when the two entities jointly spent more than $40 million to purchase over 500 acres in the Jenkins, Plains and Salem townships to build power plants to meet future data center expansion needs. In September 2025, PPL Electric Utilities announced it would request a rate increase to increase revenue by $356 million, funding that is earmarked for future grid modernization efforts, next-generation smart grid technology implementation and improved customer service systems. PPL Electric Utilities completed 77 projects in its service territory in 2025 geared at improving reliability, including upgrading poles, wiring and equipment.

“Our teams work throughout the year to inspect equipment, complete preventive maintenance, strengthen infrastructure and use advanced technology to reduce outages.”

— Christine Martin, President, PPL Electric Utilities