Just as Marcellus Shale drilling for natural gas spurred the economy and provided abundant sources of natural gas, data centers are driving a new digital economy.

Three panelists agreed at a discussion on the future of power delivery, held at the Genetti Hotel and Suites, that data centers are essential for cloud computing, logistics, AI — and the operation of nearly every sector of the digital world.

The panelists at the event held by the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce and supported by PPL Electric, included Christine Martin, president, PPL Electric Utilities; state Rep. David Rowe, a Republican and chairman of the House Policy Committee; and Becky Ford, Amazon Web Service, principal, Economic Development – Global Infrastructure Expansion.

Each fielded on-topic questions delivered by Jason Fink, president and CEO of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce. Questions that focused on power challenges, the dynamics of the data‒center economy, and what business and government leaders ought to consider as they navigate this pivotal moment.

These facilities require significant investment, but also thoughtful land-use planning, robust electrical service, and alignment with community needs and local development priorities.

At the same time, data centers are reshaping electricity demand. The data center’s large, steady loads affect power markets, transmission planning, and long-term resource adequacy. As electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, and other emerging industries add to growing demand, Pennsylvania must ensure that the grid and its power generation sector can support both economic growth and long-term affordability.

As data centers and other high‒demand industries reshape the energy future, this is one of the most important issues facing Pennsylvania businesses today.

“This is for all panelists,” Fink said. “How should Pennsylvania think about the opportunity presented by large new loads like data centers as part of a modern, competitive energy economy?”

“My role with AWS (Amazon Web Services) is to help to support the site selection and identification of opportunities where we can invest and grow data centers and infrastructure,” Ford said.

As widely reported, Amazon has a $20 billion committed investment to bring two data center campuses in Pennsylvania, one in Luzerne County and another in Bucks County near Philadelphia.

“Those two sites are actively under construction and supporting over 7,500 jobs,” Ford said. “We’re 20 % of the way to the $20 billion commitment in six months.”

Such data centers are opportunities for communities across the Commonwealth, each of the panelists agreed, with Martin likening this period of growth as similar to what was experienced with discovery of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale.

“It is a transition for the state to think about how to put that energy rich culture that we’ve all grown up on as Pennsylvanians and translate that into a digital economy,” Martin said.

“What I would say when I talk to groups in Pennsylvania, or have one-on-one conversations is this isn’t something that you stop,” she said. “It is an evolution of our economy,” she said. “It is something that you are responsible with, just like any development.”

“From a broader systems standpoint, we need to make sure that we’ve got the generation to match,” Martin said.

To a question, Rowe used an analogy of a purchase of a Westinghouse television set in 1954, which cost $1,300 then, which amounts to about $14,000 today.

“We didn’t watch less TV,” he said, adding, “instead, we streamlined the process, we refined the technology, we expanded production.”

“Now, Rowe said, “you can buy a 65 inch smart TV for less than $500,” he said. In today’s money, that would have been $14,000 just a couple of decades ago, he noted.

“So, when looking at the opportunity that large load consumers give to us, to capitalize on the ability to create a symbiotic nature, these large load consumers are responsible,” he said.

By looking at what other states are doing, Rowe said, referencing what is happening in Louisiana and Mississippi, where they are looking at double-digit percentage decreases in utility bills because of these large load consumers, the average consumer is not the one having to pick up the tab for these much needed infrastructure upgrades, he said. “So other states are doing it well.”

“My role is to be a true informer,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, who attended the conference and offered some perspective.

Meuser said he is concerned about what he called “misinformation” about data centers and their impact on energy and the environment. He said he would continue to tell constituents the latest “information, not speculation, not fear-mongering.”

“Our task ahead, I think, is to grow energy,” Meuser said, pointing toward the growth of data centers in neighboring states, citing Ohio, a state with about 150 growing data centers. “In Pennsylvania, we have about 49, so we are way behind,” he said, adding, “now we are looking to catch up because we are a great place to develop data centers,” he said. “There are something like 250 in Virginia,” he said.

The job creation, not only in construction of the data centers, but once built, providing jobs, some paying over $100,000, will, if they are not constructed in Pennsylvania, will be filled elsewhere, Meuser observed.

A discussion Meuser said he had with the U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is what the nation needs to do to help assure that any increases and advances – such as those coming with data center development – do not fall upon homeowners. “That is where President Donald J. Trump came out with the rate-payer protection plan,” Meuser said.

“That whole idea is that any new power demand from in this case a data center will not be passed or short-term the ratepayers but will be a cost built into what that data center’s demand was. He also discussed the property tax reduction picture with data centers as well as transparency of billing.

Navigating this landscape is not going to be simple and it is expected that utilities, policymakers, developers, and technology companies each have distinct responsibilities and understanding how they fit together is essential for businesses making strategic decisions.