Load Management, Efficiency & Demand Response


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    Sponsored by Caterpillar Energy Services

    PJM’s rate increase is here. What’s your strategy?

    Learn how a holistic energy strategy helps utilities control costs, improve reliability and unlock revenue. 

    July 6, 2026
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    Sponsored by VertexOne

    6 ways to get digital upgrades right for your customers

    Overcome these six common challenges when designing your digital front door to improve CX.

    By Leah Garris • July 6, 2026
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    Trendline

    Data Centers and the US Grid

    A look at how data centers are affecting the U.S. grid today and how new technologies and rate structures could affect that trajectory in the years to come.

    By Utility Dive staff
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    DOE wants to ‘permanently end’ appliance efficiency requirements

    A proposed rule would create an “obstacle course of restrictions” bogging down the Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency program, a consumer advocate said.

    By Updated July 2, 2026
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    Eversource launches targeted load management pilots in Massachusetts

    The programs address specific substations with high solar penetration or summer-peak congestion issues. They could expand in the coming years, a spokesperson said.

    By Brian Martucci • July 1, 2026
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    Utilities are not spending enough on low-income household efficiency: ACEEE

    Energy efficiency becomes more important as prices rise because it is “one of the only direct levers” a household has to reduce its bills, said Anna Johnson, senior policy manager at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

    By June 29, 2026
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    Sponsored by SEW.AI

    Why energy and utilities are moving from ‘systems’ mindset to a ‘connected platform ecosystems’ mindset powered by Vertical AI

    How leading providers are connecting customer, workforce and grid operations into one Vertical AI ecosystem.

    June 29, 2026
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    Diana DiGangi/Utility Dive
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    Opinion

    The grid operates in seconds, but financial settlement still moves in months

    Big Tech is allocating hundreds of billions of dollars for data center expansions; creating reporting frameworks for energy flexibility is the next step, writes Andrii Garanin at Silicon Foundation.

    By Andrii Garanin • June 26, 2026
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    Deep Dive

    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.

    By June 26, 2026
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    ASHRAE to tackle data centers, thermal systems at annual conference

    The engineering society’s annual meeting, starting this weekend in Austin, Texas, will have programs on managing energy costs and integrating energy storage projects, among others.

    By Joe Burns • June 26, 2026
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    Courtesy of Intersect Power
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    445 GW — mainly solar, storage — to come online by 2030 as demand growth surges: ICF

    PJM and ERCOT have no spare capacity for demand growth beyond 2027, the consulting firm said. Demand response and GETs can help meet an expected 39% jump in U.S. electric use by 2035, it suggests.

    By June 26, 2026
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    Courtesy of Sunrun
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    3 home energy providers offer 16.8 GW of distributed capacity to utilities, hyperscalers

    An executive for Sunrun said active “distributed power plant” programs like one in Puerto Rico underscore the resource’s potential.

    By Brian Martucci • June 24, 2026
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    K-12 schools can soften energy-cost hikes with performance contracts, Ameresco chief says

    The contracts offer a way for school districts to lock in costs as electricity prices rise, says Louis Maltezos, co-president of the energy infrastructure company.

    By Joe Burns • June 23, 2026
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    GETs, demand response can ease near-term data center electricity price pressure: report

    Data centers could use up to 15% of all U.S. electricity by 2030, up from 5% in 2024, Berkeley Lab researchers said in a separate analysis.

    By June 23, 2026
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    JOURNEY STUDIO7/Shutterstock.com

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    Sponsored by NewGen Strategies and Solutions, LLC.

    EVs are already on your grid. Visibility is the missing piece.

    The flexible loads utilities need exist on your system, but you can't manage what you can't see.

    By NewGen's Strategic Analytics Team • June 22, 2026
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    Managed, bidirectional EV charging advances with utility, automaker support

    General Motors and Rivian announcements this month underscore the growing U.S. electric vehicle fleet’s load management potential.

    By Brian Martucci • June 17, 2026
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    Heat pump shipments rise through April, with more use for both heating and cooling

    Ongoing legal battles regarding non-condensing commercial gas water heaters and residential gas furnaces have not yet slowed U.S. gas storage water-heater shipments, AHRI data shows.

    By Joe Burns • June 17, 2026
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    Opinion

    In wildfire country, every home should be a microgrid

    As wildfire risk grows, there are increasing calls to “bury the lines.” Undergrounding has its place, but it's not the only answer, writes Cameron Brooks, executive director of Think Microgrid.

    By Cameron Brooks • June 16, 2026
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    Opinion

    What could save Arizona millions in customer and infrastructure costs? Residential pool pumps.

    If Arizona Public Service and Salt River Project customers were to schedule pool pump operations at midday instead of at night, it could shift up to 820 MW into off-peak tariffs, ASU researchers said.

    By Vladimir Abdelnour and Nathan Johnson • June 12, 2026
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    Know the hurdles to using generators for demand response participation

    Virginia passed a law encouraging utilities to offer big power users the opportunity to participate in load-shedding programs, but for facilities, signing up is not an easy decision.

    By Robert Freedman • June 11, 2026
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    Sonoma Clean Power aims for 1,000 no-cost smart thermostats amid VPP push

    The public utility will use $5 million in state funding and partner with community groups to boost participation among lower-income customers, it said last week.

    By Brian Martucci • June 10, 2026
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    Supreme Court sends furnace case back to appeals court

    The top court agreed with the Trump administration that Biden-era rules effectively eliminating non-condensing gas furnaces and water heaters from the market are based on an incomplete legal review.

    By Robert Freedman • June 9, 2026
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    Not-for-profit utilities turn to energy storage as data centers drive cost, reliability concerns

    Reliability, power price hedging and avoided infrastructure investment are among the top reasons for the battery push, NRECA said.

    By Brian Martucci • June 9, 2026
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    Opinion

    How load flexibility buys time for America’s data center boom

    In markets where supply and demand are out of balance, grid connection increasingly comes with a choice: either bring the needed power yourself, or bring flexibility, write experts at ICF.

    By Shanthi Muthiah and Himali Parmar • June 9, 2026
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    Big, power-ready facilities drive industrial real estate market

    Companies are looking for modern facilities that can accommodate power-hungry automation, industrial experts said in a report first provided to Facilities Dive.

    By Joe Burns • June 8, 2026
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    Can stadiums be energy-efficient? USGBC map shows that many of them are

    The U.S. Green Building Council has conferred LEED status on 31 stadiums in North America, from the 9,500-seat Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas, to the 88,000-seat Estadio Banorte in Mexico City.  

    By Robert Freedman • June 8, 2026