The Latest

  • Utility workers working on power lines
    Image attribution tooltip
    Melissa Sue Gerrits via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Top electric power sector and utility conferences in 2027

    Utility Dive’s curated list of notable events where energy professionals will gather to exchange ideas, demonstrate novel approaches and network for a new era of grid modernization.

  • Aerial view oil and gas petrochemical industrial, Refinery factory oil storage tank and pipeline steel, Oil refinery plant from industry zone, Ecosystem and healthy environment concepts.
    Image attribution tooltip
    AvigatorPhotographer via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sponsored by Aon

    When does a BI value stop being the right number?

    For energy companies, the assumptions behind a BI value can change materially during the policy period.

  • An aerial view of a large construction project.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    AEP increases investment plan 30% on generation, transmission spending

    American Electric Power’s contracted large loads jumped 22%, to 84 GW, mainly on a 10.4-GW data center in Ohio being developed by SB Energy, company officials said Wednesday.

  • FirstEnergy's 1,100-MW coal-fired Fort Martin power plant in Maidsville, West Virginia, along the Monongahela River.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    FirstEnergy data center pipeline increases to 26 GW in Q3

    Two FirstEnergy utilities reserved combined-cycle turbines for a 1.2-GW data center-focused project in West Virginia and issued a solicitation for an additional 3 GW, company officials said.

  • An electrical substation
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Data center purchases of electrical equipment up 80% since 2025: Hubbell

    A temporary shortage of meter components should be fully resolved by the end of the year, the electrical equipment supplier said in its third-quarter earnings call.

  • A view of electrical transmission towers
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    BAAJA gives federal regulators ‘bigger hammer’ to break transmission blocks

    “I think the cost-sharing elements are by far probably the most important part of this bill,” Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., told Utility Dive. “My hope is that can unlock a lot more collaboration as opposed to ... folks pointing the finger at each other.”

  • Solar panels cover the roof of a Sam's Club store.
    Image attribution tooltip
    David McNew via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    California utilities, aggregators and customers to benefit from new DER laws: advocates

    One aggregator called device-level telemetry the “keystone” to extract value from multiple distributed energy resources behind the same meter.

  • A person in a suit gesturing while speaking.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Bill Pugliano via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    CMS Energy CEO predicts data center ‘progress’ after midterms

    Garrick Rochow blamed political “spin” for permitting setbacks in an earnings call. He did not address the more than $300 million the utility says it has spent to keep an aging coal plant running under DOE ‘emergency’ orders.

  • MISO control room
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Midcontinent Independent System Operator
    Image attribution tooltip

    FERC approves tougher MISO penalties for nonperforming demand-side resources

    Two Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members urged parties to monitor the rules in case they drive well-performing demand response and behind-the-meter resources out of the Midcontinent grid operator’s market.

  • A nuclear power plant with steam billowing from two cooling towers.
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Christopher Peterson is licensed under CC BY 2.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    DOE announces $10.1B in loans to Constellation, Alliant, for 3.7 GW

    Both loan packages could be used to finance uprates at existing generation facilities, which Energy Secretary Chris Wright called “commonsense” energy policy.

  • A large battery project under construction.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Sanjay Suchak/Lightshift Energy
    Image attribution tooltip

    BNEF ups US energy storage deployment forecast by 30%

    Hyperscalers’ interest in on-site and nearby energy storage has converted into firm orders this year, the global energy consultancy said last week in its latest industry outlook.

  • Service technicians work to install transmission towers.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    CenterPoint expands 10-year capital plan by $4B to handle load growth

    The Houston-based utility’s investment plan through 2035 stands at almost $71 billion, and the company is accelerating some investments to support growing customer demand.

  • An aerial view of a power plant on a bend in a river.
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Quintin Soloviev is licensed under CC BY 4.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    PJM urges FERC to dismiss Mon Power ‘fishing expedition’ seeking to recoup $145M

    FirstEnergy’s Monongahela Power contends that the PJM Interconnection’s advanced scheduling of gas-fired power plants during Winter Storm Fern may have violated the grid operator’s rules.

  • A data center under construction.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Reliability standards for AI data centers, crypto miners move closer to adoption

    NERC’s Board of Trustees on Monday voted to adopt reliability standards for AI data centers and other computational loads. The proposed rules now go to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval.

    Updated Oct. 27, 2026
  • Five large gray pipes, which are surrounded by trees, lead up from a reservoir of water up the side of a mountain.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    Capacity, clarity, cash and compliance: the 4 C’s of electric co-op funding success

    Compliance is where cooperative utilities tend to struggle the most, and the latest federal funding programs have introduced even tougher terms, writes Fedsprout CEO Aalap Shah.

  • An American flag and a flag bearing the seal of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (which features an eagle holding a shield with elements of a skyline on it) flank a large upright square panel bearing the same CISA seal. On the wall to the right of the panel and the flags, a row of digital clocks shows the time in the four major U.S. time zones.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Eric Geller/Utility Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    CISA promises proactive critical infrastructure defense in new strategic plan

    Supply-chain security receives special attention in the plan, with CISA promising to “develop data-driven guidance and best practices” related to third-party dependencies. AI is mentioned only briefly.

  • Construction workers at an industrial site.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Kathleen Flynn via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Clean energy groups, states oppose MISO’s large load-generation study plan

    The grid operator’s proposed fast-track study process for large loads with generation lacks ratepayer protections and favors vertically integrated utilities over independent power producers, critics said.

    Updated Oct. 26, 2026
  • A person in profile
    Image attribution tooltip
    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NextEra Energy secures $5.7B to support federal energy ‘hub’ projects

    The company remains on track to close a merger with Dominion Energy in the second half of 2027, despite political opposition in Virginia, NextEra officials said Wednesday.

  • Workers seen in a unfinished building
    Image attribution tooltip
    Kena Betancur via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Utilities turn to AI to manage rising power demand — from AI

    Applications include maintenance prioritization and demand forecasting, but AI outputs that are uneven, or those that can’t be audited, constrain broader deployment. “Most utilities could not reconstruct what an AI system read, what it did and why,” one expert told Utility Dive.

  • A truck passes in front of turbines at a wind farm in Colorado City, Texas.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Wind turbine orders hit 2.8 GW in Q2 ahead of tax credit deadline: WoodMac

    Overall, “the U.S. wind industry remains on course to add 39 GW of onshore new-build capacity by 2030,” the report said.

  • Two offshore wind turbines on the sea with a sunrise on the horizon.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    DOJ moves to revoke offshore wind permits, potentially threatening Senate permitting bill

    Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., one of the senators sponsoring the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, said in a statement, “This is how you blow up a permitting deal.”

  • A firefighter sprays water on a burning home after the Norte Fire moved through the area on October 16, 2026 in San Juan Capistrano, California.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    PG&E needs wildfire policy reform to manage tail risk, CEO says

    CEO Patti Poppe said the company’s credit rating “is a major issue that must be solved ... [legislative] inaction will continue to get increasingly expensive for our customers.”

  • The sun sets behind wind turbines
    Image attribution tooltip
    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Trump eschews tariffs for trade talks on wind turbine imports

    Following a Section 232 probe, the president tasked cabinet officials to engage in negotiations and report on their progress within 180 days.

  • An aerial view of a large building covered in solar panels.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Google supersizes PJM virtual power plant to more than 1 GW

    Such contracts signal a turning point for distributed resources in energy markets, industry sources say. Demand response revenue in PJM jumped 240% from 2024 to 2025, reaching $523.6 million; emergency demand response accounted for 88% of that.

  • A wind farm on rolling hills in Pennsylvania, which is part of the PJM Interconnection.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    Jigar Shah blames the wrong target for rising electricity bills

    With utility returns trending downward, the data does not support a national “utility greed” narrative, writes Guy Caruso, former administrator for the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

  • McGinness Hills geothermal energy plant in Nevada.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of U.S. Bureau of Land Management
    Image attribution tooltip

    Geothermal lease sale on federal land in Nevada nets $4.8M

    An Interior Department auction for roughly 187,000 acres generated less per acre than a similar sale in the same state in 2025. Leases for two parcels that sold overlap with the site of a proposed NextEra solar farm.