Congressional Testimony of Tyler H. Norris of Duke University—Hearing on Scaling for Growth: Meeting the Demand for Reliable, Affordable Electricity

Increased need for electricity is driving elevated demand for power companies to rapidly build out their generation capacity. But Nicholas Institute research shows that, with strategic timing of load use, such demand could be met by the existing power grid.

On March 5, 2025, Tyler H. Norris—J.B. Duke Fellow, Ph.D. student at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, and lead author of the recent study Rethinking Load Growth: Assessing the Potential for Integration of Large Flexible Loads in US Power Systems—testified before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Energy, on how to strategically scale electric power to meet increasing demand by using existing infrastructure, a stable policy environment, and a proactive approach to planning and investing in long-lead resources.

The testimony at the hearing—"Scaling for Growth: Meeting the Demand for Reliable, Affordable Electricity"—included:

• How the existing US power system can quickly integrate large volumes of new electricity load while preserving reliability and affordability
• Opportunities to accelerate the addition of new generation to the grid
• How these measures can buy time and resources for scaling up long-lead investments

For media inquiries, contact the Nicholas Institute communications team at ni-comm@duke.edu.