US summer generating capacity increases by 75 GW since 2025: FERC

Capacity additions include about 26 GW in Texas, 13 GW in the Western Electric Coordinating Council region and 11 GW in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market, FERC said.

By Ethan Howland • May 22, 2026

Puerto Rico’s power grid is ‘suspended between two realities,’ top utility regulator says

Affordability, reliability and the need to restore public confidence almost a decade after Hurricane Maria are top concerns, writes PREB Chairman Edison Avilés.

By Edison Avilés • May 22, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive

Power demand is rising amid dramatic shifts in federal energy policy, but technology and markets continue to push the grid toward cleaner, more distributed resources. 

By Utility Dive staff

AEP, other Ohio utilities could own nuclear power plants under state bill

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association opposes the bill, saying it would give utilities a path back into the generation business with customers bearing the financial risks.

By Ethan Howland • May 22, 2026

Nuclear fuel is the weak link in US energy security: Centrus CMO

America must rebuild its nuclear fuel supply chain to reduce geopolitical risk, writes Centrus Energy CMO John Donelson. “No one company can do it alone.”

By John Donelson • May 21, 2026

PJM accelerates backstop auction amid uncertainty over data center cost allocation

The grid operator urged states to develop rules to shield other ratepayers from data center-driven costs, but analysts said it remains unclear how a reliability auction’s costs could be allocated only to hyperscalers.

By Ethan Howland • May 20, 2026

PJM gets emergency approval to curtail data centers, large loads during hot weather

Under the Department of Energy order, the PJM Interconnection can curtail power to data centers with backup generation as a last resort before instituting rolling blackouts.

By Ethan Howland • May 19, 2026

DOE exceeded its authority with coal retirement delay, states tell appeals court

A decision in the Consumers Energy case could set a precedent for legal challenges to Department of Energy orders keeping fossil-fueled power plants from retiring.

By Ethan Howland • May 18, 2026

Combined NextEra-Dominion would have 130-GW large-load pipeline

Analysts said the deal, which could create the largest regulated electric utility in the world, marks a shift back toward an integrated utility model. The combined business would be “anchored by a more than 80% regulated business mix,” the companies said.

By Robert Walton • May 18, 2026

Data center’s onsite generation strategy could be the key to navigating community opposition

Community resistance to data centers is intensifying. Residents and local officials cite concerns: noise, emissions, water consumption, visual impact, land use and the fear that large new loads will require costly new grid infrastructure.

By Joel Yu • May 18, 2026

DOJ may intervene in NAACP lawsuit over xAI’s data center gas turbines

It is “the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance,” a deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice wrote in a court notice suggesting it might intervene.

By Diana DiGangi • May 15, 2026

Security beyond CIP: When ‘low impact’ doesn’t mean low risk

Today’s power grid was built to handle an outage at a major facility. But there is a growing risk from many smaller resources failing at once, writes Anirban Ghosh at Black & Veatch.

By Anirban “Sunny” Ghosh • May 14, 2026

PJM may be ‘too big to function’: FERC Chairman Swett

Each of the 13 states in PJM, and the District of Columbia, have “fundamentally different regulatory structures, resource portfolios and politics,” FERC Chairman Laura Swett said. FERC will host a conference in July to identify potential reforms to PJM’s governance structure.

By Ethan Howland • May 13, 2026

2026 Q1 roundup: Utilities divided on data centers as affordability looms large

Physics, policy and politics are beginning to constrain some of the electric utility industry’s highest aspirations for data center-driven growth, Utility Dive learned in first quarter earnings calls.

By Meris Lutz • May 13, 2026

Hyperscalers driving record clean energy deals: CEBA CEO

U.S. corporate clean energy procurement surpassed 27 gigawatts in 2025, with four companies accounting for about three-quarters of that capacity, Rich Powell, CEO of the newly rebranded Corporate Energy Buyers Association, said in an interview.

By Lamar Johnson • May 12, 2026

Constellation Energy enters 5 GW of nuclear, gas, battery capacity in PJM queue

Some potential data center customers are pausing decision-making in the PJM Interconnection to see how the grid operator’s colocation and backstop auction rules shake out, company officials said.

By Ethan Howland • May 12, 2026

Vistra adds 4.5 GW of capacity in line with ‘reasonable’ forecasts for PJM, ERCOT

“While these views remain below many third-party forecasts and ISO projections, they reflect what we believe to be the pace of physical development,” Vistra CEO Jim Burke said of the company’s load growth projections.

By Diana DiGangi • May 11, 2026

PPL ‘advanced’ data center pipeline grows to 28.3 GW in Pennsylvania

A PPL-Blackstone joint venture is securing gas turbines for power plants that would serve data centers, company officials said.

By Ethan Howland • May 11, 2026

Eversource CEO: ‘We are resisting data centers’

Data centers are of “no value to our residential customer — actually, any customer,” said Eversource Energy CEO Joe Nolan. “It's only going to drive up the price of energy.”

By Diana DiGangi • May 8, 2026

Evergy expects retail sales to rise up to 8% annually on data center growth

In response, Evergy has increased its planned gas-fired generation in Missouri to 4.7 GW. Separately, it slashed its long-term renewable energy plans more than 90%.

By Ethan Howland • May 8, 2026

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.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 7, 2026

NRG close to completing 415-MW gas plant backed by Texas Energy Fund

The independent power producer has another 1.1 GW of state-supported gas projects set to come online this decade as it also works to integrate 13 GW of gas-generation assets acquired from LS Power.

By Brian Martucci • May 7, 2026

PJM floats options for capacity market overhaul

“The current situation is not tenable,” PJM President and CEO David Mills said. “The region has years, not decades, to make these choices deliberately.” The grid operator lays out three options, including shifting to an energy market model, in a white paper.

By Ethan Howland • May 7, 2026

PSEG CEO: Nuclear outlook for New Jersey improves on lifting of moratorium

Nuclear power plants won’t be built, however, without long-term federal financial support and hyperscaler offtake agreements, said Ralph LaRossa, Public Service Enterprise Group CEO.

By Ethan Howland • May 6, 2026

Nuclear reaches 41% of TVA’s power supply

TVA interim CEO Mike Skaggs said he wants to “[establish] clarity on our position around new nuclear technologies,” and “work with the federal administration and our board of directors to clarify TVA's path going forward.”

By Diana DiGangi • May 6, 2026

AEP eyes exit from PJM, SPP over slow generation interconnection

American Electric Power’s review of its market options comes amid a surge in customer demand across its multistate footprint. Its utilities have contracts for 63 GW of new large load by 2030.

By Ethan Howland • May 6, 2026