The Energy Boss Overhauling the Grid for AI and Net Zero

As chief executive officer of National Grid Plc, John Pettigrew is on the frontlines of the green transition in the US and the UK. Building out power lines is critical to electrifying the economy and shifting away from fossil fuels, and the 55-year-old industry veteran likens the effort to Britain’s rapid investment in infrastructure in the Victorian era.

Pettigrew – who joined National Grid in the early 1990s, just after privatization – spoke with Bloomberg about the scale of the challenge, what might hold him back and whether Sam Altman’s right about the need for nuclear fusion to satisfy AI’s power demand (spoiler: no). The transcript has been edited for brevity.