DOE’s emergency orders create a moral hazard

The U.S. Department of Energy’s use of Federal Power Act authority to keep retiring fossil fuel plants online could trigger a vicious cycle that ultimately jeopardizes grid reliability.

By Jennifer Danis • Sept. 12, 2025

Thermal power plants more competitive than clean energy when considering reliability: Vistra CEO

Even so, in the near term Vistra President and CEO Jim Burke expects solar and batteries to do well because they can be built quickly.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 12, 2025

Explore the Trendline➔

Electricity Supply and Demand

After nearly two decades of flat demand, U.S. electricity consumption reached an all-time high in 2024 and is expected to continue rising. This trendline brings together the best of Utility Dive’s coverage of emerging trends in supply and demand and the decisions being made today that will impact the power system for years to come. 

By Utility Dive staff

Entergy expects data centers to drive 13% near-term annual industrial sales growth: CEO

With new gas-fired generation expected, Entergy faces challenges in meeting its 50% carbon reduction goal for 2030, CEO Drew Marsh said.

By Ethan Howland • Updated Sept. 24, 2025

Texas regulators approve 2 Entergy gas plants with $2.4B ‘hard cap’

The new resources are necessary, said PUCT Chair Thomas Gleeson, “but we also have the mandate to protect customers, and I think this accomplishes both.”

By Robert Walton • Sept. 11, 2025

Complaint over MISO’s $22B transmission portfolio faces widespread opposition

Granting the complaint from five utility commissions could delay adding power supplies in the Midcontinent region and hurt reliability, according to comments filed at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 10, 2025

Batteries, gas generators to supply ‘bridge power’ for Texas data centers

Prometheus Hyperscale is the latest data center developer turning to on-site generation and storage in the face of years-long grid interconnection queues.

By Brian Martucci • Sept. 10, 2025

Electric grid growing faster than anticipated: EIA

Utility-scale solar will lead the pack in generation growth this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday, while natural gas generation is expected to decline due to high fuel prices.

By Diana DiGangi • Sept. 10, 2025

Blaming data centers for PJM supply challenges misses the bigger picture

Reliability will not be secured by focusing on a single industry. PJM and policymakers must take a comprehensive, solutions-oriented approach to grid management.

By Todd Snitchler • Sept. 10, 2025

Solar, storage are booming, but federal policy is driving costs higher: SEIA/WoodMac report

Residential solar pricing is up 2% year over year, commercial systems are up 10% and utility-scale pricing is up 4%, according to new research.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 9, 2025

Indiana governor seeks lower utility rates: ‘We can’t take it anymore.’

Utility companies that could be affected include AES, American Electric Power, CenterPoint Energy, Duke Energy and NiSource.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 8, 2025

How utilities can partner with data centers amid surging load and on-site generation

Data centers are reshaping energy. Utilities must evolve from suppliers to strategic innovators, leading with transparency and bold engagement.

By Chris Kasiewicz, PE and Chris Postma, PE – POWER Engineers, member of WSP • Sept. 8, 2025

Compressing the timeline to a fusion future

General Fusion advances clean energy, using simulation to reach major milestone in fusion power.

By Joseph Carew • Sept. 8, 2025

Fed primed for rate cut as hiring slumps, unemployment inches up to 4.3%

Traders in interest rate futures, responding to new labor market data, increased the odds that the Fed will cut the benchmark interest rate by at least 0.75 percentage point before next year.

By Jim Tyson • Sept. 5, 2025

Nuclear power is failing, and AI can’t rescue it

Nuclear generation is expensive and slow to develop. Claims that past failures won’t recur have convinced politicians to socialize investments rejected by private capital markets.

By Amory B. Lovins • Sept. 5, 2025

Trump’s FERC nominees pledge agency independence in Senate confirmation hearing

Nominees Laura Swett and David LaCerte said they support the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s independence and the need to be agnostic on generating technologies.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 5, 2025

Gas turbine manufacturers expand capacity, but order backlog could prove stubborn

One expert said the industry moves are unlikely to “drastically reduce” wait times, which can stretch as long as seven years. “More skilled and engineering labor will be needed,” he said.

By Diana DiGangi • Sept. 5, 2025

Utilities could add 147 GW of new large loads, boosting peak demand 20%: WoodMac

Most large loads under construction are located in regulated markets, but there is growing interest in siting these projects in deregulated markets, according to a new report.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 5, 2025

FERC in Focus: Will the agency maintain its independence under Trump 2.0?

With two Republican nominees preparing to join the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, former commissioners, experts and agency observers say they are watching several key areas to gauge whether the body will remain autonomous.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 4, 2025

Trump escalates war against offshore wind as Danish developer strikes back

The administration moved to revoke another offshore wind permit as the developer of a different blocked project filed a lawsuit.

By Meris Lutz • Sept. 4, 2025

It’s time for customer-oriented approaches to generator interconnection

The electric power system requires seminal reform. Open access should remain a vital principle of grid regulation.

By Travis Kavulla and Eric Blank • Sept. 3, 2025

Rising natural gas prices expected to drive up electricity costs: IEEFA

Price volatility and sticker shock could trigger public backlash against utilities, an Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis expert says.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 3, 2025

PJM stakeholders overwhelmingly pan proposal for data center interconnection

Amazon and others urged PJM to drop the proposal and instead focus on how to improve load forecasting, bolster the grid interconnection process and strengthen regional transmission planning.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 3, 2025

JEA plans $1.6B, 675-MW gas plant

Consumer and environmental advocates say the plant could stick Jacksonville, Florida, residents with increased rates and a reliance on natural gas for decades.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 2, 2025

PJM faces possible long-term ‘energy emergency’: DOE

The Department of Energy ordered Constellation to keep running units in Pennsylvania while groups challenge the emergency orders. “A ‘growing … concern’ is not an emergency,” consumer advocates said.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 2, 2025

Tennessee Valley Authority signs agreement for 6 GW of small nuclear

The initiative will utilize small modular reactors developed by NuScale Power and deployed by ENTRA1 Energy.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 2, 2025