For entrepreneurs with a provocative vision for energy & IT; NGP is the only utility venture & innovation fund that taps into the global network of National Grid, accelerating companies with investment, innovation, incubation & biz dev; realizing the full potential of energy.

National Grid Partners

National Grid Partners Utility Innovation Survey Report 2026.pdf

Utilities are under pressure to move faster than ever. Electricity demand is rising; AI data centers are reshaping grid planning; customer affordability remains front and center; and reliability is once again the industry’s clearest north star.

National Grid Partners’ third annual Utility Innovation Survey shows an industry that’s investing more, collaborating more, and embedding innovation more broadly across operations. Of the more than 130 utility leaders we surveyed, 72% say their innovation budgets increased over the past year. And 34% are now partnering with startups, up from 28% last year.  

Artificial intelligence, meanwhile, is creating not just new demands for utilities but also opportunities. Nearly 80% of surveyed leaders have fully deployed or operationalized at least one AI application tied to large-load customer planning (including load forecasting and capacity management).  

But the survey findings also highlight the challenges utilities face in scaling innovation amidst competing priorities.  

Some 84% of respondents say it takes more than a year to move new technology from pilot to rollout – a number that’s gone up every year we’ve conducted the survey. And nearly a third of those projects (32%) stall after becoming scale-ready – indicating resources are being diverted to other demands.  

Also slowing progress, 87% of respondents say, are outdated regulations. Return on investments in AI and other innovations are being limited by rate-case frameworks held over from the pre-AI era.  

On a related note, 83% of those surveyed say infrastructure costs tied to AI data center demand are increasingly being passed on to residential customers. 

More Investment, but Longer Delays

Still, the message from this year’s survey is not that utilities should adopt AI or other emerging technologies everywhere, all at once. It’s more disciplined than that. Respondents recommend proving a new technology first – especially around reliability, safety, affordability, and operational performance – then scaling what works best. 

Collaboration also matters. As utilities face similar challenges around grid modernization, affordability, and data center growth, peer learning is becoming a critical part of the innovation model. A notable 83 percent of innovation leaders say they actively collaborate with other utilities.  

No single company has all the answers, but together the industry can move faster, reduce risk, and develop clearer benchmarks for successful innovation. This is why National Grid Partners built the NextGrid Alliance, a peer network of more than 170 utilities around the world. We work to address the energy sector’s toughest challenges through shared insights, collaboration, and co-innovation.  

And at this week’s NextGrid Alliance Summit in Boston, we’re tackling these challenges head on and learning from one another in real time.  

Click the link above to download the full report. And register now to participate in our 2027 Utility Innovation Survey. 

Prove Value First, Then Scale

By Shun Sakaguchi, National Grid Partners 

From AI Ambition to New Grid Reality: Key Findings from the 2026 Utility Innovation Survey