Duke Energy adds a tech executive as AI reshapes grid demand
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on September 29, 2026.
Mullen, a career enterprise-technology executive, lands on the board of an $89 billion utility at the moment grid operators are rebuilding around data centers and AI load growth. Duke's capital plan runs through boards that can judge those bets, and the newest voice in the room comes from the tech side.
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Duke Energy put enterprise technology expertise on its board on September 29, 2026, naming Joyce A. Mullen as it enters one of the most capital-intensive periods in its history. Her background sits on the demand side of the grid buildout, where data centers and AI infrastructure sit.
Directors approve or push back on the multibillion-dollar bets required to serve power-hungry computing loads, so board composition now shapes Duke's capital plan. Mullen gives the board a read on enterprise technology that utility and financial backgrounds do not naturally supply.
AI workloads are driving electricity consumption beyond forecasts written a few years ago, forcing grid operators to rethink capacity planning. Duke, one of the largest regulated utilities in the United States, sits directly in the path of that shift. Board decisions now set its capital posture for years.
The appointment tells investors Duke is building the expertise to judge technology-driven infrastructure bets at the governance level. Its next decade will be defined as much by data center contracts as by conventional generation and transmission.