Three Consistent Challenges to the U.S. Energy Industry

by Steven Mauss, CEO and President at Knowledge Relay, Inc.

Let’s be candid—we’re entering a new era for our industry. U.S. electricity demand is set to jump 25% by 2030, and peak demand will climb 14% in that same window (thanks to ICF for the numbers). That’s a serious uptick compared to the slow, steady one-to-two percent growth we’ve gotten used to over the past decade. Obviously, an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach will be necessary.

And it’s not just here at home. Globally, the utility services market is on track for nearly 10% annual growth, ballooning from $1.65B in 2024 to $3.84B by 2033. Digital transformation and renewables are a big part of that story.

But here’s the catch: None of this growth is guaranteed unless we face some tough realities. Whenever I talk with other leaders in Energy, three challenges keep coming up—no matter the company size or geography . . .

1. Legacy Infrastructure Is Holding Us Back

We all know our grids and generation assets are aging fast. They simply weren’t built for today’s demands—especially with data centers, electrification, and distributed energy resources pushing the limits. Modernization isn’t optional anymore, it’s urgent.

As a recent Getac article put it, our core assets are the “beating heart” of the industry, but they’re under strain. Data centers alone are pushing legacy infrastructure to the brink. Add in extreme weather and natural disasters, and we’re constantly in reactive mode—making tough calls on safety and reliability. Predictive maintenance tech is starting to help us get ahead of failures, and in the meantime, natural gas is still a crucial bridge for keeping the lights on when growing nuclear and renewables can’t carry the load.

2. Skills Deficits and Workforce Pressures

Finding and keeping skilled workers is harder than ever. There just aren’t enough qualified people to maintain and upgrade what we have. Tools like predictive maintenance, rugged mobile devices, and smarter integration between OT and IT (what Knowledge Relay is doing) can help us get more out of the teams we’ve got—without having to replace everything.

Field crews are being asked to do more with less—collecting data, maintaining assets, and meeting rising customer expectations. Streamlining operations and giving teams real-time data is critical, and that’s exactly where we’ve focused at Knowledge Relay: Solutions that make data integration, ETL, reporting, and analytics a lot simpler and more actionable.

3. Wrestling with Data Overload

We’re drowning in data, but we’re not always getting value from it. Manual processes—pen-and-paper, endless spreadsheets, siloed systems—are still common. Plus, “there is excessive redundancy in the data collection process,” notes Getac. “Antiquated protocols mandate workers to gather the same data repeatedly for input in various data management systems.”

Digital transformation is supposed to help, but it often overwhelms IT teams and creates new silos . . . especially with all the new IoT and smart grid devices coming online.

Centralized asset management and robust ETL tools (again, like ours at Knowledge Relay) can help cut through the noise, prioritize insights, and make planning, reporting, and decision-making a lot smoother—whether it’s day-to-day ops or during outages and turnarounds.

I’d love to hear how you’re tackling these challenges in your organization. What’s working? Where are you still hitting roadblocks?

Shoot me a direct message to share your thoughts—I’m always up for a real conversation with fellow leaders who are in the trenches with me.