Econ Dev Show Podcast - Economic Development - Episodes Tagged with “Utilities”

201: Why Electricity Decides Everything Now in Economic Development with Timothy Comerford

Dane Carlson — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0600

In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, Dane Carlson talks with Timothy Comerford of Biggins Lacey & Shapiro about the rapidly shifting reality of power availability in site selection.

Tim explains how explosive demand from data centers and industrial users is overwhelming electric utilities, reshaping incentive policy, and lengthening timelines for securing capacity. He breaks down the biggest misconceptions around power lead times, why transmission is often the bottleneck, how utilities are adapting with costly engineering studies and take-or-pay requirements, and what steps EDOs must take to credibly position their sites.

This is a masterclass on the new electricity-driven geography of economic development.

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Ten Actionable Takeaways for Economic Developers

Build strong, direct relationships with utility contacts who will actually talk to prospects.
Understand that real timelines for securing large loads run in years, not months.
Work with utilities to pre-identify transmission routes and right-of-way feasibility.
Gather realistic load estimates from prospects instead of just taking their engineer's peak numbers.
Know whether your sites already sit near substations with real remaining capacity.
Incorporate redundancy needs early, since 100 percent backup can double infrastructure requirements.
Prepare for developers who request huge speculative loads and learn how to differentiate serious projects.
Recognize that incentives tied to data centers may face political pressure due to ratepayer impacts.
Push utilities and state partners to invest in long-range planning that anticipates industrial and data center growth.
Educate local stakeholders that modern site readiness now includes power readiness as a top priority.

Special Guest: Timothy Comeford.

196: AI and the Future of Economic Development with Dane Carlson

Dane Carlson — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 00:15:00 -0500

In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, host Dane Carlson shares his talk from the Utility Economic Development Association’s 2025 Fall Forum in Traverse City, Michigan. He explains how artificial intelligence is transforming economic development from a guessing game into a data-driven discipline. Drawing from his work with Sitehunt, Dane reveals how utilities can turn raw infrastructure data like power, water, sewer, and fiber into actionable intelligence that accelerates projects, shortens RFI responses, and drives smarter investment decisions. He challenges listeners to stop optimizing for Google and start optimizing for AI, showing how even small steps like making one dataset machine readable can reshape how regions grow and compete.

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10 Actionable Takeaways for Economic Developers

Make one dataset machine readable, even if it is internal. It is the first step toward AI readiness.
Think of AI as infrastructure, not a chatbot. Build systems that work continuously, not conversations.
Use APIs to connect your data, automate workflows, and ensure consistency.
Chain models together to combine reasoning, data retrieval, and structured writing capabilities.
Capture tribal knowledge by converting what only a few people know into structured, shareable data.
Automate RFI responses by integrating structured site data with AI models for instant scoring.
Start vibe coding by describing outcomes and intent instead of writing brittle, rigid logic.
Stop optimizing for Google. Design your data for AI systems that synthesize and act.
Run small experiments monthly to test new models and internal automations.
Advocate inside your organization. Utilities are the backbone of AI enabled economic development.