DOE taps SoftBank arm to develop 9.2 GW of gas generation in Ohio

SB Energy, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank Group, is also investing $4.2 billion with AEP Ohio to upgrade and build new transmission lines in Southern Ohio.

By Robert Walton • March 20, 2026

Electric sector gas use fell 3% in 2025, partly on solar, battery rise: EIA

Consumption rose for all other sectors, however, making 2025 a record year for U.S. gas consumption.

By Diana DiGangi • March 19, 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

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.

By Brian Martucci • March 19, 2026

LS Power strikes deal to buy 4.4 GW in PJM from Constellation

The transaction is the latest in a series of gas-fired power plant sales in the PJM Interconnection market, where growing demand for electricity is cutting into available supply.

By Ethan Howland • March 19, 2026

To strengthen power reliability in extreme weather, diversify grid resources

More expensive, less reliable power need not be our unavoidable fate, writes NextGen Energy CEO Kimberly Johnston.

By Kimberly Johnston • March 18, 2026

Democratic House bill aims to overturn Trump electricity policies

The bill, backed by 122 House members, would reinstate clean energy tax credits and grants while aiming to speed grid interconnection to an expanded transmission system.

By Ethan Howland • March 18, 2026

13 DOE emergency orders have cost Americans $235M, Sierra Club says

The Energy Department's 90-day orders to keep six retiring fossil-fueled power plants online are adding millions to customer utility bills, according to the Sierra Club.

By Robert Walton • March 18, 2026

FERC approves SPP merger of interconnection, transmission planning

“This proposal will get transmission built smarter and connect new generation faster,” said David Rosner, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

By Ethan Howland • March 17, 2026

Mass. governor orders state to pursue 15 GW of resources, including storage, VPPs

The executive order also calls for a review of existing gas and oil storage capacity and utilization, including how the Everett LNG import terminal helps meet the region’s energy needs.

By Robert Walton • March 17, 2026

What technology, policy and energy-finance leaders all agree on

Risk, return and credible deployment pathways are key factors that infrastructure investors evaluate. Solar and storage meet these requirements, writes Brendan Bell of Aligned Climate Capital. 

By Brendan Bell • March 16, 2026

Data center demand spike could drive 79% ERCOT price hike in 2027: EIA

In a high-demand scenario, data centers could drive 2025-2027 annual load growth 15% higher in Texas and 4.7% higher in PJM Interconnection, the Energy Information Administration said.

By Robert Walton • March 16, 2026

Atlas Energy to buy $840M in power assets from Caterpillar

The company is seeking to build out private grid infrastructure to meet surging electrical demand from data centers and manufacturers’ reshoring efforts.

By Nathan Owens • March 13, 2026

IOUs work to interconnect 39 GW of data center, manufacturing load: EEI

Duke Energy, Northern Indiana Public Service and Xcel Energy are among the utilities with major data center projects in their service territories, the Edison Electric Institute told federal regulators.

By Ethan Howland • March 13, 2026

‘Clear warning signs’ as PJM wholesale power costs jump 54% in one year

Also, PJM’s last two base capacity auctions show a growing shortfall compared to its reserve margin targets, according to the grid operator’s market monitor. Prices will continue rising until large data center loads are addressed, it said.

By Ethan Howland • Updated March 14, 2026

America’s power shortage is a market failure

Early buildout of the U.S. rail system was fragmented, with local projects often failing to connect regions. Grid developers today should pay heed, writes Maria Martinez of the Clean Economy Project.

By Maria Martinez • March 12, 2026

Germany’s RWE plans nearly $20B US investment, including gas peakers

RWE had put U.S. investment decisions on hold, in part due to tariff uncertainty, but officials credit the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year with jump-starting its plans to build fossil plants.

By Robert Walton • March 12, 2026

NERC overstates reliability risks in long-term assessment: Grid Strategies

The North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s analysis uses low generation and interregional power flow assumptions but a high demand forecast, including from data centers, the consulting firm said.

By Ethan Howland • Updated March 11, 2026

Build smarter: Energy demand growth can benefit everyone

It is imperative that our governing bodies act quickly to untie the hands of the energy industry and allow America to build, writes Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the American Gas Association.

By Karen Harbert • March 9, 2026

Reliability risk isn’t just about capacity anymore

Winter Storm Fern showed that the integration of flexible resources paired with improved weatherization and better market structures can materially reduce risk during extreme weather, writes Tapas Peshin of PCI Energy Solutions.

By Tapas Peshin • March 6, 2026

AI is outpacing America’s power grid. Nuclear must become a national priority.

Nuclear power can scale with the needs of AI, writes Amentum’s Mark Whitney. Companies and communities relying on renewables will risk outages, higher costs and missed opportunities.

By Mark Whitney • March 5, 2026

PJM market monitor opposes Maryland power plant sale to data center company

TeraWulf’s plan to buy a power plant from GenOn faces opposition at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as hyperscalers at White House meeting pledge to bring their own generation.

By Ethan Howland • March 5, 2026

NRC approves construction of advanced nuclear reactor in Wyoming

The construction permit to a subsidiary of Bill Gates’ TerraPower for a 345-MW commercial nuclear power plant project is the NRC’s first commercial reactor construction approval in nearly 10 years.

By Diana DiGangi • March 5, 2026

Coal plant DOE ordered to stay online unlikely to run given ‘flush’ power supplies: CEO

The Department of Energy claimed “emergency” conditions in the Pacific Northwest required TransAlta to continue running Washington’s last coal plant past its planned retirement. The company plans to convert it to run on gas.

By Ethan Howland • March 4, 2026

The physics of reliability: Why gas peakers alone can’t save the modern grid

Most outages don’t start as a multihour energy shortage; they start as a frequency crisis. If you only have gas, you’re trying to stop a bullet with a shield that takes 10 minutes to lift, writes Arun Muthukrishnan from Arevon Energy.

By Arun Muthukrishnan • March 3, 2026

Tariffs drove construction input prices up to start 2026

January’s cost increases amounted to a “blistering” annualized rate of 7.1% for nonresidential input prices, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. Copper was up 80% year over year, iron and steel 58% and switchgear 67%.

By Sebastian Obando • March 3, 2026