Schneider and Bloomberg Lead New Push to Rein in AI’s Soaring Energy Appetite

A new global coalition is taking aim at one of the most urgent challenges of the energy transition: how to manage soaring electricity demand as AI, electrification and population growth push power grids to their limits.

Schneider Electric and Bloomberg New Economy have unveiled the Energy Technology Coalition, a cross-sector alliance designed to fast-track adoption of demand-side energy technologies, reshape grid resilience, and influence climate and industrial strategy worldwide. The launch was announced simultaneously at Schneider Electric’s Innovation Summit North America in Las Vegas and at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.

Shifting the spotlight from energy supply to smarter energy use

While global investment still focuses heavily on building more electricity supply, the Coalition argues that the fastest and most cost-effective path to energy security is transforming the way energy is used. The initiative will champion technologies such as AI-enabled grid optimisation, digital twins, advanced industrial automation, and scalable demand management tools designed to stabilise consumption without slowing economic growth.

“Building a resilient and affordable energy future requires strong collaboration across the technology and energy sectors,” said Frédéric Godemel, Executive Vice President for Energy Management at Schneider Electric. “By leveraging innovations like AI and digital twins, we can strengthen the grid, improve reliability, and make energy more accessible and cost-effective for everyone.”

Addressing the bottlenecks holding back smart grid technologies

Coalition members will map out the regulatory, technical and commercial barriers that have slowed adoption of demand-side technologies. These include outdated regulations, fragmented standards, limited digital infrastructure and uncertainty among utilities and industrial users around return on investment for advanced grid tools.

Their mission: deliver data-backed frameworks, market guidance and policy recommendations that help governments and businesses deploy demand-side solutions at speed.

The Coalition will also explore how AI can forecast load surges, how digital twins can optimise asset performance in real time, and how automated control systems can eliminate waste across industrial operations.

A heavyweight governance group

Founding members span industry, academia and policy, including:

• Christina Shim, Chief Sustainability Officer, IBM
• Professor John D. Sterman, Director, MIT System Dynamics Group
• Claire O’Neill, former UK Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth; Non-Executive Director, Oxy
• Arch Rao, CEO, SPAN
• Manon van Beek, CEO, TenneT

O’Neill said the focus is long overdue: “Demand-side innovation and investment are too often ignored. Regardless of the carbon intensity coming into the system, managing demand better delivers huge cost, efficiency and flexibility benefits.”

Bloomberg Media CEO Karen Saltser added, “Digital infrastructure and energy systems are converging at an unprecedented pace. As AI and compute demand skyrocket, the world urgently needs coordinated action to deliver clean, resilient and efficient energy.”

Why this matters for CEOs, utilities and investors

The launch comes as governments and companies face escalating pressure to manage electricity demand amid the AI computing boom. For grid operators, demand-side solutions can delay or avoid costly new generation capacity. For corporates, they unlock efficiency gains, lower energy bills and reduce exposure to volatile markets. For investors, they represent one of the fastest-growing segments in climate technology-with both near-term commercial traction and long-term systemic importance.

Demand-side management is also becoming central to national energy security strategies, with the US, EU and Asia assessing how AI-driven consumption will reshape peak load curves, grid reliability and renewable integration.

Next stop: Davos 2026

The Coalition’s first in-person working session will take place in January 2026 at Bloomberg House in Davos, coinciding with the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Members will refine analytical frameworks, explore pilot projects and shape policy recommendations that could redefine how the world approaches efficient, intelligent energy use over the next decade.

As AI and electrification accelerate, the Energy Technology Coalition is positioning demand-side innovation not as a niche efficiency play-but as a central pillar of global energy transition, climate strategy, and future grid resilience.