Panel

Pennsylvania’s Power Surge: Datacenters, Grid Stress and New Regulatory Frontiers

Wednesday February 25, 2026 5:15 pm - 6:45 pm

Penn Carey Law
Golkin 100, Michael A. Fitts Auditorium
3501 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

The Master in Law Program proudly presents its annual lecture. This panel explores the intersection of datacenter growth and challenges to the energy infrastructure. The explosive growth of generative AI and cloud computing is driving demand for large-scale datacenters, placing unprecedented pressure on the U.S. electric grid, energy infrastructure, climate and clean energy goals, as well as consumer pricing. With a focus on Pennsylvania, panelists will discuss how this unprecedented demand is reshaping energy systems and challenging regulatory frameworks, prompting innovative legal and regulatory strategies.

Timothy Burdis (ML’23), Director of State Policy Solutions, PJM Interconnection
Stephen M. DeFrank, Chairman, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
Ray Fakhoury, Manager, Energy Policy, AWS Public Policy
Devin McDougall, Senior Attorney, Clean Energy Program, Earthjustice

Moderator

Shelley Welton, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

A pre-event reception will be held from 4:00-5:15 PM in Davis Student Union, Golkin Hall, Penn Carey Law.

This program has been approved for a total of 1.5 Substantive CLE credits for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credit may be available in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit can make a payment via cash or check made payable to ”The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania” on the day of the event or prior to the event via the online registration link in the amount of $60.00 ($30.00 public interest/non-profit attorneys). In order to receive the appropriate amount of credit, passwords provided throughout the program must be noted in your evaluation form.

Penn Carey Law Alumni receive CLE credits free through The W.P. Carey Foundation’s generous commitment to Lifelong Learning.

For those who register to attend virtually, a Zoom link will be sent the morning of the event.

Speakers

Timothy C. Burdis ML'23

Director, State Policy Solutions

PJM Interconnection

As director of state policy solutions, Burdis manages a team of professionals who endeavor to harmonize emerging state electricity policies with wholesale market design and transmission system planning policies.

Burdis started his career as an engineer working in PJM’s markets and operations divisions.

He holds a Master in Law from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and received his Master of Science in Engineering from West Virginia University.

Stephen M. DeFrank

Chairman

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission

Stephen M. DeFrank was nominated to serve as Commissioner by Governor Tom Wolf on September 20, 2022, and confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate on October 19, 2022. Once on the Commission, he was elected as Vice Chairman on October 27, 2022, and appointed as Chairman on August 30, 2023, by Governor Josh Shapiro. He was renominated by Governor Shapiro on March 24, 2025, and confirmed unanimously by the Senate on June 4, 2025. His term expires on April 1, 2030.

Devin McDougall

Senior Attorney

Clean Energy Program, Earthjustice

Devin McDougall is a supervising senior attorney at Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest law firm. He is based in Earthjustice’s Philadelphia office, and leads Earthjustice’s Pennsylvania clean energy work. Prior to joining Earthjustice, he worked at Sive, Paget and Riesel, boutique law firm in New York City, where his work focused on clean energy issues.

Dado Slezak

Executive Vice President, Utility Innovation

QTS

Dado Slezak joined QTS in 2024 and serves as the company’s Executive Vice President of Utility Innovation. Dado oversees QTS’s energy strategy as well as the underwriting and execution of certain investment opportunities.

Prior to QTS, Dado was Managing Director at Astatine Investment Partners overseeing and executing on global investments primarily in digital infrastructure and essential services.

Dado earned an M.B.A from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Master’s degree from Harvard University.

Shelley Welton

Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy

Kleinman Center and Carey Law School

Shelley Welton is the Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School where she holds an affiliation with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy in the Weitzman School as part of President Amy Gutmann’s 2019 commitment to build a multidisciplinary energy policy faculty affiliated with the Kleinman Center.

At the Law School, Welton teaches environmental law and a climate change law seminar. She also teaches “Introduction to Energy Policy,” a university-wide graduate course, for the Kleinman Center on Energy Policy.

Welton comes to Penn from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she taught administrative law, energy law, environmental law and policy, environmental justice, and climate change law. Her scholarship has appeared in publications including the Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, California Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Michigan Law Review, and Harvard Environmental Law Review.

Prior to academia, Welton worked as the deputy director of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. She also clerked for the Honorable David Trager of the Eastern District of New York and the Honorable Allyson Duncan of the Fourth Circuit. She received her PhD in law from Yale Law, her JD from NYU School of Law, a Master of Public Administration in environmental science and policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and her BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 