Community trust powers energy growth in the United States
Harry Sideris is president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy, one of the nation’s largest energy holding companies. Duke Energy is a sponsor of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum. This essay is part of the 2026 Global Energy Agenda.
The United States is undergoing rapid economic and technological change, driven by a resurgence in manufacturing and advances in artificial intelligence. And population growth continues to accelerate in states that offer opportunity and a high quality of life. Duke Energy serves families and businesses across the Southeast and Midwest—in some of the fastest-growing states in the country. The growth is not theoretical. It is already showing up on our energy system, and the opportunity is being felt directly in the communities we serve and across the nation.
Utilities must step up to meet historic energy demand by being better and faster, and always looking for the lowest-cost path to serve this growth. Duke Energy is deploying the industry’s largest regulated capital investment plan—$103 billion over the next five years—to maximize current assets while adding new generation capacity. Deploying these investments at speed is important. But to truly deliver, speed must be paired with discipline, trust, and transparency, ensuring new infrastructure strengthens and delivers real value for customers over the long term.
For utility leaders, this starts with being active members of our communities and being engaged in the discussions around kitchen tables and local hearings where projects ultimately take shape. As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, I reflect on the fact that for nearly half that time—over 120 years—Duke Energy employees have lived and worked alongside the communities we serve. Trust is built by showing up early, listening carefully, and giving local stakeholders a meaningful voice in decisions that affect them. That trust is foundational to durable growth at speed.
This commitment to communities matters, especially in moments like this when the growth we are serving is broad, sustained, and accelerating. Utilities must support significant customer commitments tied to population growth, manufacturing expansion, and new industries in our respective regions. This is not about any single sector. It is about powering long-term economic growth across regions that consistently rank among the most competitive places to live and do business.
As demand accelerates, this model for early and sustained community engagement is increasingly important for large infrastructure customers, including data centers. These large customers bring innovation and capital, but many have limited experience navigating local jurisdictions and engaging the wide range of stakeholders involved in siting long‑lived infrastructure. When those conversations occur late—or not at all—projects can face opposition that delays or derails development altogether.
Utilities play a critical bridging role. Developers are seeking partners who not only deliver reliable power, but who also bring longstanding trust within the communities where projects are proposed. That trust, earned over generations, helps create conditions where data centers and other large facilities can be developed responsibly and at pace.
Customers and communities benefit directly from this approach. Duke Energy and a number of other utilities have designed contract provisions to ensure that large customers pay the costs of serving their sites. Long‑term commitments, including minimum bills and termination penalties, ensure infrastructure investments are borne by the customers driving new demand, even if projects change or do not proceed as planned. Over time, these large customers will also help lower costs for everyone by sharing the expense of infrastructure that all customers rely on.
Projects such as Amazon’s ten billion dollar investment to build a data center in rural Richmond County, North Carolina, which will be powered by Duke Energy, can also create high‑paying jobs, fund critical infrastructure upgrades, including wastewater treatment, and generate tax revenue that can support the local school system and other local initiatives. These investments are strengthening communities today.
Doing this work at scale will help more communities thrive, support the United States’ competitiveness in artificial intelligence, and drive sustainable, long‑term economic growth across the regions we serve.
Other nations may build faster by cutting corners, but that speed often comes at the expense of transparency, safety, or public trust. The United States has always competed differently. To power the next chapter of American growth—from artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing—speed alone is not enough. Lasting progress depends on trust, alignment, and execution that delivers better outcomes, faster timelines, and better value for the people and places we serve.
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Image: Photo by Daniel Weiss on Unsplash