The Latest

  • A man works in a food cart during a snowstorm.
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    Andres Kudacki/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Winter peak demand could hit new highs, prompting DOE emergency orders

    Grid operators that sought permission to run generators at maximum capacity said they have adequate power supplies, but they made their requests in light of potentially record-high winter peak demand this week.

  • R.M. Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield, IN.
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    The image by Chris Light is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    MISO regulators seek stakeholder review for DOE ‘emergency’ orders cost allocation

    The U.S. Department of Energy has failed to show there are reliability benefits from keeping power plants from retiring in the Midcontinent region, state utility regulators told FERC.

  • A lineman repairs power lines after Hurricane Milton passed through the area on October 12, 2024, in Englewood, Florida.
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    Joe Raedle/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The new equation for energy security in 2026

    Energy systems will be shaped by those who build resilient, diversified portfolios that balance reliability, policy, emissions, cost and independence, writes Honeywell Process Technology CEO Ken West.

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    Getty Images
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    Moody’s sees $3T in data center spending by 2030

    The financial services company says costlier builds and power constraints could stretch out completion timelines, but demand remains strong.

  • Electric utility trucks and power lines against snow
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    Ron Jenkins via Getty Images
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    DOE orders diesel generators to be ready as electric sector prepares for Winter Storm Fern

    Secretary of Energy Chris Wright asked grid operators to be prepared to utilize up to 35 GW of backup generation. A consumer advocate warned the plan is unworkable.

  • U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in the Oval Office at the White House.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    DOE funding bill ignores some of Trump’s requested cuts

    The White House asked that Congress zero out the solar and wind energy programs of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, but Congress provided $320 million to those two Energy Department programs.

  • U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    The week in 5 numbers: DOE axes or alters $83B in loans, NJ governor comes out swinging

    U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey used their respective bully pulpits to push their energy priorities. Plus, transmission and, of course, PJM news. 

  • Wind turbines
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    Can power demand boost renewables above policy obstacles in 2026?

    The industry is navigating new FEOC rules and steeling itself for the end of some IRA credits. But load growth and rising electricity bills present opportunity, according to experts in our renewable energy outlook.

  • A woman sits at a desk in front of two flags.
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    Retrieved from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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    FERC commissioners see progress in PJM data center, power supply plans

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Laura Swett said she is “encouraged that PJM and its stakeholders are working cooperatively now, much more so than they have in the recent past.”

  • FERC headquarters
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    Permission granted by Esme Howland
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    FERC upholds MISO, SPP fast-track generator reviews

    The agency also approved a 1.2-GW pumped storage project planned by Rye Development in Washington.

  • An aerial photograph of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill in Roane County, Tenn.
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    Retrieved from Tennessee Valley Authority/Wikimedia Commons.
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    Lawsuits target EPA rollback of coal plant water pollution standards

    The plants need flexibility to meet rising electricity demand, the EPA says. Environmental groups argue that undermines Clean Water Act protections for rivers and drinking water sources.

  • Kousisis, racial preferences, supreme court
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    Getty Images
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    Gas sector takes furnace efficiency fight to Supreme Court

    Advocates say stricter efficiency rules can be met with proven, energy-saving technologies. The gas industry says the rules ban non-condensing furnaces and other products.

  • Electric transmission lines running through the woods.
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    Getty Images
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    PJM cost concerns bleed into transmission planning

    A proposed $1.7-billion, 765-kV power line across central Pennsylvania by NextEra Energy and Exelon could become the “poster child” for overbuilding new transmission infrastructure, according to that state’s ratepayer advocate. 

  • A row of electric vehicles charging on the street.
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    3alexd via Getty Images
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    Managed EV charging can save utilities and ratepayers money: report

    By optimizing electric vehicle charging around peak times, utilities can delay costly distribution grid upgrades while cutting per-vehicle charging costs by 25% or more, Brattle Group said this month.

  • Three people sit at a table in a congressional hearing room
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    Heather Diehl via Getty Images
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    Acting CISA chief defends workforce cuts, declares agency ‘back on mission’

    Madhu Gottumukkala said the Trump administration supports a long-term renewal of the 2015 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Act. The agency is also working on finalizing regulation under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act.

  • A skyshot of Boston across a dusky view with a river through the left side of the photo.
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    Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Massachusetts can make ‘bottom-up’ distribution reforms for a better grid

    Adopting a distribution system operator, or DSO, structure would make the grid cleaner, more flexible and more affordable, writes Corrin Moss. 

  • New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill
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    Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    New Jersey governor orders state to accelerate solar, storage and virtual power plants

    Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who was sworn in Tuesday, also ordered regulators to study how to “modernize” the traditional electric utility business model, including by making utility profits “less dependent on capital spending.”

  • A worker repairs a power line
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    Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo via Getty Images
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    Utilities under pressure: 6 power sector trends to watch in 2026

    Facing rising demand and aggressive load growth projections, utilities are rolling out massive spending plans. Now they'll have to walk a fine line with regulators and ratepayers.

  • Construction crews work on a data center.
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    George Frey via Getty Images
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    Labor, tariffs collide with data center boom

    Contractors report booming demand for certain types of builds, particularly data centers and power projects to support them. But outside those sectors, workforce shortages and tariffs weigh on construction.

  • An aerial view of a nuclear plant next to a river
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Project finance is the missing link for the nuclear buildout we need

    This model fuels nearly every major energy infrastructure investment and should be applied to nuclear, too, writes Ruhani Arya of Bank of America.

  • Energy Dome, CO2 battery, Google
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    Courtesy of Energy Dome
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    Google sees CO2 batteries as large-scale way to store renewable energy

    The tech giant is working with a Milan-based company called Energy Dome, which has built a model facility in Ottana, Sardinia, Italy. As part of the partnership, Google has made an equity investment in the company.

  • Three men in blue shirts stand at desks with a bank of computer screens.
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    Permission granted by PJM Interconnection
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    PJM board calls for backstop auction in data center interconnection plan

    The PJM Interconnection’s board also called on stakeholders to consider extending a price collar on capacity auctions to limit their effect on ratepayers.

  • A power plant with smoke stacks at the edge of a river.
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    The image by Acroterion is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Opinion

    A PJM backstop auction could fill the large load supply gap: Talen CEO

    Reliability backstop auctions should not be a permanent, ongoing market feature, but they are the answer to today’s problem, writes Talen CEO Mac McFarland.

  • A high-voltage transmission line runs through barren woods.
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    Permission granted by Minnesota Power
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    Xcel-led coalition proposes Minnesota-North Dakota transmission expansion

    All new infrastructure for the line would be within the right-of-way of an existing 345-kV line that faces thermal and voltage issues, the five utilities said.

  • A nuclear power plant near a body of water.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Trump administration pushes PJM to hold ‘emergency’ auction to supply data centers

    Capstone analysts said the proposal lacks binding authority, “reinforcing that this is policy signaling, not an imminent market reform.”