Deep Dive
Industry insights from our journalists
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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
Utilities lack tools to guard power grid from drone attacks
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 -
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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 -
Wikipedia. (2024). "2024 RTO Map" [jpg]. Retrieved from WikiCommons.
Will ERCOT’s streamlined connect-and-manage approach work for other markets?
ERCOT’s single-state, energy-only interconnection process doesn’t include other markets’ deliverability requirements and generator cost certainty needs.
Herman K. Trabish • June 16, 2025 -
Courtesy of Acciona Energia
Will tariffs help or hurt the US energy storage industry? It’s complicated, experts say
Battery system costs have already soared past 2023 levels, one analyst says, but insiders are cautiously optimistic for a more resilient supply chain in the longer run.
Brian Martucci • May 1, 2025 -
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EPRI’s Open Power AI Consortium plans to fuel grid modernization with data sharing
Utilities, tech companies and regulators are facing a conundrum: Utilities want to use AI, but AI needs access to unavailable utility data to be effective.
Herman K. Trabish • Updated April 29, 2025 -
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Trump executive order threatens transmission, interconnection initiatives: former FERC commissioners
President Trump’s executive order compromises FERC’s independence, is “unhealthy, unwarranted, and unprecedented,” threatens power system reliability and is “plainly illegal,” the former commissioners say.
Herman K. Trabish • March 26, 2025 -
The image by DJSlawSlaw is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Santee Cooper wants to sell its unfinished reactors. What happens next?
Completing V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 could spark a “nuclear renaissance,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster says, but questions remain on the project’s scope, timeline and cost.
Brian Martucci • March 17, 2025 -
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Avista, PG&E, Ameren AI demonstrations show great potential – but are other utilities ready?
New artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms can optimize complexities across the power system if utilities and regulators can make data more accessible — and protect it, experts say.
Herman K. Trabish • March 7, 2025 -
(Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images) via Getty Images
Transformer supply bottleneck threatens power system stability as load grows
Electric transformers are critical to managing power system reliability. Solutions to the bottleneck are emerging, but long wait times remain.
Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 12, 2025 -
Getty Images
The 2025 outlook for data center cooling
Rapidly increasing server rack densities and 24/7 uptime requirements will increase demand for liquid and hybrid cooling systems, including retrofits, these data center cooling experts say.
Brian Martucci • Jan. 22, 2025 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
2025 Renewable Energy Outlook: Full speed ahead as second Trump administration begins
Load growth and Inflation Reduction Act spending are driving the industry forward despite the threat of federal policy reversals.
Diana DiGangi • Jan. 21, 2025
