Most NYC buildings met emissions standard in first compliance year

Many improved their performance through building upgrades and energy-efficiency measures like lighting upgrades, envelope work, installing heat pumps or implementing energy management systems, a city official said.

By Joe Burns • Sept. 29, 2026

From data centers to AI factories: What utilities need to know about the next wave of load growth

 The AI boom is here. Can utilities plan fast enough to power it?

Sept. 28, 2026

Explore the 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

Efforts to curb data center speculation gain ground across the US

Large-load tariffs and other measures to weed out speculative projects are taking shape. Public backlash to data centers, shifting state-level policies and the utility profit model are complicating those efforts, stakeholders say.

By Brian Martucci • Sept. 23, 2026

North Carolina regulators deny Duke Energy gas turbine request over ‘staggering’ cost, uncertain need

The order called out Duke’s commitment to the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge, saying the utility had not established the specific extent to which the proposed facility is intended to serve data centers.

By Diana DiGangi • Sept. 22, 2026

Trump is stalling EV adoption. Here’s how states can step up.

While President Trump attacks electric vehicles, a few states are charting a path to expand electric transportation and reduce residents’ costs, writes the Sierra Club's Katherine García.

By Katherine García • Sept. 17, 2026

Climavision offers expanded weather forecasting to data centers

The company says it can help large loads better respond to changing weather conditions as data centers are asked to play a more active role in grid management.

By Charles Paullin • Sept. 16, 2026

Utility costs could put pressure on cities’ finances, S&P experts warn

Rates are high compared to household income in many places, and over time, this could reduce flexibility for public finance entities, say S&P Global analysts. This isn’t currently leading to significant bond rating actions, but it’s a “simmering risk.”

By Vicky Uhland • Sept. 16, 2026

Utilities, schools see growing value in electric buses for virtual power plants

By participating in programs that ease grid congestion, school districts can recoup thousands of dollars from the price of electric school buses.

By Brian Martucci • Sept. 16, 2026

‘Second-life’ battery project is B2U’s second in ERCOT, with more on the way

A strategic supply agreement with Waymo and rising EV adoption rates will expand the company’s access to older batteries still fit for use in stationary storage, CEO Freeman Hall told Utility Dive.

By Brian Martucci • Sept. 15, 2026

PJM faces 2030 reliability crisis if data center load growth continues: report

In a worst-case scenario, the modeled loss of load expectation is “over 100 times worse than PJM’s planning criterion,” indicating an expectation of “more than 13 days with loss of load events per year,” said the study commissioned by the Pennsylvania PUC.

By Diana DiGangi • Updated Sept. 16, 2026

Turning utility customer affordability into action

The growing role of customer affordability in utility strategy, investment and long-term planning.

Sept. 14, 2026

Pennsylvania PUC to consider ratemaking, ROE and curtailment as data center load grows

The decisions come “amid growing concern about the balance between rapidly increasing electricity demand and the resources available to serve that demand” in PJM territory, the Pennsylvania PUC said.

By Diana DiGangi • Sept. 11, 2026

Google bankrolls PG&E virtual power plant

The SHARE program is a proof of concept for privately-funded distributed energy capacity and could eventually expand to include commercial, industrial and utility-scale resources, Pacific Gas & Electric said.

By Brian Martucci • Sept. 10, 2026

Front-of-meter solar, storage could serve 32% of California’s 2032 peak load: study

An analysis commissioned by the Coalition for Community Solar Access found untapped opportunity for 3,100 distribution-connected projects in the state’s three investor-owned utility territories.

By Brian Martucci • Sept. 9, 2026

ERCOT load continues to reach record highs

Over six weeks since late July, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ weekly average peak loads all exceeded a record set in 2023, the Energy Information Administration said.

By Diana DiGangi • Sept. 8, 2026

A VPP is a garden. Let’s make them flourish nationwide.

Utilities keep buying VPPs like power plants. The megawatts are identical. The asset is not.

By Nick Woolley • Sept. 8, 2026

Supporters hopeful as DOE, EPA finalize Energy Star transition plan

The U.S. Department of Energy’s success with its Better Buildings Initiative shows that the agency knows how to make a public-private partnership like Energy Star work, an efficiency stakeholder said.

By Robert Freedman • Sept. 4, 2026

National Grid’s different gas-electric forecasts are responsible planning

National Grid New York is advancing integrated gas-electric planning through coordinated efforts and non-pipeline alternatives, writes the utility’s general counsel, Philip DeCicco.

By Philip DeCicco • Sept. 3, 2026

Santee Cooper partners with Google in shift toward AI-driven forecasting

The state-owned utility plans to use artificial intelligence tools for more precise weather, load and financial planning, CFO Tami Wilson told journalists.

By Diana DiGangi • Updated Sept. 9, 2026

PG&E sees rising interest in ‘customer-driven’ flexible interconnection pilot

The Flex Connect program allows larger distribution-connected loads to energize in months instead of waiting “several years” for firm interconnection, the Northern California utility says.

By Brian Martucci • Sept. 2, 2026

Stakeholders square off over proposed DOE appliance program changes

Manufacturers say the changes would create a more predictable process to set appliance standards but should not “apply retroactively to standards already finalized.” Efficiency advocates say potential energy savings will be lost.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 31, 2026

Nevada ‘misses an opportunity’ in performance-based DER tariffs: advocate

The new demand response frameworks bring the state in line with other pay-for-performance virtual power plants while keeping NV Energy in the driver’s seat.

By Brian Martucci • Updated Aug. 28, 2026

PacifiCorp to suspend California energy efficiency programs under proposed settlement

The programs have “historically not provided cost-effectiveness benefits to ratepayers and, indeed, show a decline in performance in recent years,” said the California Public Utilities Commission’s Public Advocates Office.

By Diana DiGangi • Aug. 25, 2026

What makes a customer portal work for employees? These 4 essentials.

Utility portals are framed as customer experience tools, but they also improve how frontline work is done.

Aug. 24, 2026

ERCOT aims to complete Texas governor’s data center audit by December

The pause on new data center interconnections could impact the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ upcoming long-term load forecast and reliability assessment, officials said Thursday.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 21, 2026