Southern Company CEO Chris Womack on AI, power demand and affordability

Chris Womack is chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, one of the largest investor-owned, regulated utility holding companies in the US. Its electric and gas subsidiaries serve more than 9 million customers in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi and Tennessee.  In this episode, co-host Dan Testa sits down with Womack to discuss the many issues facing the US power industry, including how utility capital spending impacts affordability, federal loan guarantees, coal-fired power plant extensions, as well as rising power demand forecasts driven by data centers and AI.

The development of data centers, many of which are to enable the growth and widespread use of powerful AI applications, is one of the key drivers of steeply increasing electricity demand forecasts in the US and around the world.   But while the power industry is working to supply electricity needed by large tech firms, it is also using AI technology to improve its own operations. In this episode, Dan Testa speaks with experts and executives about how utilities, large industrial facilities and energy companies are using AI, and what's ahead.   Joining this episode are Morgan Scott, vice president of global partnerships and outreach at the Electric Power Research Institute; Honeywell Process Automation President and CEO Jim Masso; and Amit Narayan, co-founder and CEO of GridCARE.  

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally reshaped its energy sector, with oil and gas exports diverted from Europe to Asia while soaring military spending strains the state budget. The war has stalled Russia's decarbonization plans and reduced investment in cleaner energy projects. But with climate change impacts increasingly visible across Russia's vast territory, the question looms: How will Moscow adapt its energy infrastructure? And what potential exists if the government shifts priorities toward energy adaptation? In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte and Rosemary Griffin, managing editor at Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, examine how geopolitical conflict and climate realities are creating a crossroads moment for one of the world's largest energy producers. First, Tatiana Mitrova, fellow at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, explains how the war in Ukraine is affecting Russia's energy strategy and why the country's enormous renewable energy potential remains largely untapped. The conversation then turns to Eoin Quill, researcher at Climate Analytics, who puts Russia's greenhouse gas emissions in global context, examines its role as a carbon sink, and explores how the rapidly warming Arctic could alter the country's energy infrastructure and export capabilities.

Ernest Moniz was the 13th US secretary of energy, serving from 2013 to January 2017. During his tenure he was part of the team, along with then-Secretary of State John Kerry, that negotiated the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. Moniz currently serves as founder and CEO of the EFI Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the transition to a low-carbon energy future.   In this episode, Dan Testa speaks with Moniz on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, to hear the former secretary's perspectives on the current war with Iran and the impacts on oil and gas markets, as well as how the conflict could accelerate adoption of other forms of energy. Moniz also weighs in on steeply rising US power demand forecasts, which new energy technologies hold promise and possible "bumps in the road" for the energy transition. This episode also features information about the Platts Global Power Markets Conference, scheduled for April 13-15 in Las Vegas. Click here to register or learn more about the conference. Related content:  (Subscriber content) QatarEnergy expects 3-5 years to repair LNG facilities after strikes  (Subscriber content) Iran war disrupting supply chains more so than COVID: Saudi finance minister  (Subscriber content) Crude exports from inside Strait of Hormuz plunge 70% since onset of war: CAS

The EU Emissions Trading System is facing its greatest test yet. European leaders and companies are sounding the alarm, warning that high carbon prices are undermining the bloc's industrial competitiveness and threatening to drive manufacturing offshore. In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte examines what's driving the turbulence in Europe's carbon market and what it means for the bloc's energy transition. First, Irina Breilean, carbon price reporter at S&P Global Energy Platts, explains how political pressure from member states has dragged EU Allowance prices down by almost Eur30/mtCO2e in recent months. The conversation then turns to Julia Michalak, EU policy director at the International Emissions Trading Association, who breaks down the ETS reforms now under consideration: extended free allocations, the modified Market Stability Reserve, and why industrial competitiveness concerns are dominating the climate policy debate in Brussels. Eklavya also speaks with Pedro Barata, associate vice president for carbon markets and private sector decarbonization at the Environmental Defense Fund, who offers a perspective on the political economy of carbon pricing and how the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is evolving from a climate tool into an instrument of industrial policy -- with major implications for global trade.

Measuring and reducing upstream methane emissions is critical for US gas producers, particularly as they look to export their product to markets like Europe and Asia, and as the tech industry turns to gas as a key solution to its voracious power demand.  In this episode, from the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, co-host Dan Testa talks with Courtney Loper, head of government relations and public affairs for EQT Corp., one of the largest US gas producers and pipeline operators, about the steps the company has taken to improve methane measuring. Also joining the episode is Ben Webster, director of policy at MiQ, a nonprofit providing data and certifications to understand and reduce methane emissions.

When it comes to advanced nuclear generation, most North American power producers are in the study and development phases. But Ontario Power Generation is currently constructing the first of four small modular nuclear reactors at its Darlington facility, with the first 300-MW unit scheduled to complete construction and connect to the grid by 2030. The other three reactors are scheduled to be complete in the mid-2030s, totaling 1,200 MW of firm capacity from advanced nuclear reactors.  In this episode, Dan Testa speaks with OPG President and CEO Nicolle Butcher, from the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, about the state of the advanced nuclear project so far, how OPG selected this reactor design and why public power providers, like OPG in Canada and the Tennessee Valley Authority in the US, are taking the first steps to build advanced nuclear generation in North America. 

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz was long considered one of the energy market's great hypotheticals -- until it became a reality. In this special CERAWeek series episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte sits down with Dave Ernsberger, president of S&P Global Energy, to examine what may be the most significant energy supply disruption ever and how it's forcing a fundamental redrawing of the global energy map. With around 20% of the world's oil and LNG usually passing through this key chokepoint, the impact has been asymmetrical and severe -- India faces LPG shortages, Asian refiners are struggling with profitability, and fuel supplies are tightening sharply. The conversation also explores how this crisis is accelerating a structural shift in energy markets, particularly East of Suez, where the energy trifecta of affordability, security and sustainability has been upended. Ernsberger also looks at how the conflict is intersecting with the AI and data center boom -- creating inflationary pressures that reach from the Middle East to different states in the US.

Carbon accounting — the math of how emissions are calculated, reported and compared — is poised to move to the forefront of global trade and energy markets. Three critical developments in 2026 are forcing action: the implementation of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, revisions to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and new industry-driven product-level carbon accounting efforts. In this episode, host Eklavya Gupte explores why harmonizing carbon accounting matters now, what's at stake, and how the commodity industry is responding to the urgent need for standardized, comparable emissions data. The discussion features S&P Global Energy Horizons analysts Kevin Birn, head of carbon research and the center of emissions excellence; Roman Kramarchuk, head of integrated narratives and policy analysis; and James Salo, head of partnerships and strategic initiatives.

California utility PG&E is studying the impacts of electrification to understand and prepare for a future grid with high levels of distributed energy resources, and significantly higher power demand.   But although PG&E expects to spend about $25 billion by 2040 on grid upgrades, the distribution portion of customers' electric bills could decrease up to 25% over that period as added revenue from increased power usage more than covers the investment costs.   In this episode, host Dan Testa speaks with Quinn Nakayama, PG&E's senior director of grid research, innovation and development, about this process and how the utility is deploying technology to make electrification easier for customers, particularly by lowering the cost of upgrades necessary to charge electric vehicles at home.