Deep Dive
Industry insights from our journalists
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Retrieved from Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Quantum computing is coming fast. Are utilities ready?
“The load profile is different from anything utilities have planned for before,” said Aparna Prabhakar, chief strategy and sustainability officer, energy management, for Schneider Electric.
Herman K. Trabish • Updated 7 hours ago -
Bryan Steffy via Getty Images
Utility profits in the crosshairs amid affordability concerns
As states target utilities’ return on equity, Pepco’s rate case in Maryland, where the consumer advocate is arguing for an ROE cut, is being closely watched.
Herman K. Trabish • Updated July 29, 2026 -
Mario Tama / Staff via Getty Images
Data centers are ready to negotiate flexibility for speed
Hyperscalers want their data centers online and utilities want to provide interconnections, but experts say both are still looking for common operating guidelines.
Herman K. Trabish • June 26, 2026 -
DOE emergency orders are incurring additional costs. What are the benefits?
Some of the generating units have operated during tight grid conditions and may have contributed to reliability. Keeping them running costs about $550 million a year, the Sierra Club says.
Ethan Howland • June 25, 2026 -
Power plants under DOE emergency orders are producing way less energy than before
The Department of Energy ordered six power plants to delay their retirements last year. Two of them produced zero electricity in the first quarter in 2026, and another one is now offline for repairs.
Ethan Howland • June 23, 2026 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
New cybersecurity industry coalition aims to lead US critical infrastructure protection
The new Alliance for Critical Infrastructure wants to change how the nation plans for a major cybersecurity crisis. Founding members include Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Consolidated Edison, Southern Co. and Xcel Energy.
Eric Geller • May 19, 2026 -
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images via Getty Images
Will DOE’s ‘nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses’ solve the US nuclear waste problem?
The Department of Energy wants to collaborate with states that agree to take in and possibly recycle used nuclear fuel, and some have responded positively. But practical and policy challenges remain.
Herman K. Trabish • May 7, 2026 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
As EV load grows, utilities use managed charging to harness flexibility, lower costs
Active managed charging can delay costly system upgrades while saving individual customers money on their bills, utilities, automakers and aggregators say, but a lack of standardized data-sharing is slowing adoption.
Herman K. Trabish • Updated April 10, 2026 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
DOE emergency orders for fossil plants complicate utility planning, experts say
Lawyers and officials are divided on whether the “stay-open” orders threaten states’ ability to regulate their own energy systems. Environmental groups put the cost to ratepayers in the hundreds of millions, and growing.
Brian Martucci • March 19, 2026 -
Diana DiGangi/Utility Dive
Utilities are spending billions on the data center boom. What are the risks?
“Data center demand is hard to project over the next few years,” said Advait Arun of the Center for Public Enterprise. “In a market correction, it's very possible that data centers ... will end up crashing out of their tariff arrangements.”
Diana DiGangi • March 6, 2026 -
Chris McGrath/Getty Images via Getty Images
Drone attack simulation exposed a grid vulnerability, utilities say
Power grid asset owners and operators have growing concern around their ability to protect critical assets from drone attacks as the U.S. government warns energy companies to prepare for possible Iranian retaliation.
Robert Walton • March 5, 2026 -
Permission granted by Alliance to Save Energy
VPP vs. VPP: Customer-owned DER aggregators challenge Xcel-owned batteries in Minnesota docket
The Minnesota decision could affect how regulators see virtual power plants nationwide.
Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 19, 2026 -
Getty Images
Customers, don’t expect electric bill relief in 2026: ‘The cake is baked.’
Energy affordability has long been a problem for the poorest Americans, but now middle-income families are starting to feel the squeeze.
Robert Walton • Jan. 30, 2026 -
Retrieved from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
FERC in 2026: Rising costs cloud regulators’ options on data centers, transmission and more
DOE’s colocation proposal and transmission planning reforms will set FERC’s agenda this year against a backdrop of rising concern over affordability, former commission chairmen and experts say in our 2026 outlook.
Ethan Howland • Jan. 29, 2026 -
Sean Gallup via Getty Images
In 2026, virtual power plants must scale or risk being left behind
The AI data center frenzy is shifting utilities’ focus to large-scale generation. But advocates say flexible, distributed energy resources still provide the biggest bang for the buck, according to our 2026 DER outlook.
Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 27, 2026 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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.
Diana DiGangi • Jan. 22, 2026 -
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
Tribal nations regroup after loss of federal funding for clean energy
“We know the demand for energy is only going to continue in the coming years,” said Clara Pratte, founder of the solar company Navajo Power. “And in terms of tribal communities, we have to be players in this world.”
Diana DiGangi • Updated Dec. 16, 2025 -
Brent Stirton via Getty Images
Utilities, regulators look to accelerate pilots to achieve speed-to-innovation
Stakeholders say clear cost limits, timelines and parameters for scaling can overcome the inertia of a traditionally risk-averse industry.
Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 1, 2025 -
Diana DiGangi/Utility Dive
What the last gas boom (and bust) says about today’s rush to build
Gas power M&A valuations have doubled since 2024, but new generation remains a risky investment, analysts say.
Diana DiGangi and Meris Lutz • Nov. 4, 2025 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
In an era of rising rates, policies to strengthen power system flexibility can lower costs
The right policies can provide grid flexibility, which reduces demand-driven rate spikes and protects consumers while allowing utilities to build out the grid, experts say.
Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 29, 2025 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
Grid planners and experts on why markets keep choosing renewables
“If natural gas was the cheapest option to meet the peak, the markets would select it,” said Sean Kelly, co-founder and CEO of forecast provider Amperon and a former energy analyst.
Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 9, 2025 -
Permission granted by Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Is nuclear fusion for real this time? These utilities think so.
Three years after a vital scientific breakthrough, Dominion Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority have struck deals with nuclear fusion startups. Some experts remain skeptical.
Brian Martucci • Updated Sept. 26, 2025 -
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
Clean energy developers hope for clarity in upcoming FEOC guidance
The foreign entity of concern rules in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are onerous and complicated, with “multiple traps for the unwary,” said Vinson & Elkins tax partner Lauren Collins.
Diana DiGangi • Sept. 8, 2025 -
Retrieved from Gregory Cooper/National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Multidirectional flows of power and information are the grid’s future
In the frenzy to meet rising energy demand, utilities and others often overlook the value of power system innovations, industry participants say.
Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 12, 2025 -
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
The regulator’s dilemma: balancing grid modernization with rising power bills
Load growth and aging infrastructure require investment, but customer electricity prices are up 4.5% nationally, almost twice the 2.4% national inflation rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Herman K. Trabish • July 15, 2025
