Wildfire costs loom over California legislative session that passed solar, data center bills

The California Legislature did not vote on a wildfire reform bill during a special session Tuesday, effectively killing the proposal. The bill had implications for electric utilities.

By Diana DiGangi • Updated Sept. 2, 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

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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

VPP value proposition expands to affordability, reliability and resilience

Robust compensation and metering, along with strong customer protections, are needed to drive participation in utility virtual power plant programs, according to experts.

By Brian Martucci • Aug. 19, 2026

Hyundai unifies vehicle V2X capabilities with AllDayEnergy entity

The global service signals a consistent energy management experience across Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs, and better use of bidirectional charging functionality. 

By Bengt Halvorson • Aug. 18, 2026

Pay-as-you-go batteries: ‘One weird trick’ for the distribution grid?

Battery leases with low or no up-front costs are attractive in markets with well-developed virtual power plant programs and persistent grid congestion, but experts see them taking off elsewhere, too.

By Brian Martucci • Aug. 11, 2026

Sunrun pursues direct-sales transition amid industry headwinds

The residential solar-and-storage provider is looking to diversify its revenue while increasing focus on “unlocking value from the customers and assets we already have,” CEO Mary Powell told investors.

By Brian Martucci • Aug. 10, 2026

California DER wholesale market participation could grow 2+ GW from CAISO ‘accounting change’: advocate

Behind-the-meter batteries and other aggregated DERs could get another lift from a related rulemaking at the California Public Utilities Commission, but a final ruling is unlikely before next year, a regulatory expert told Utility Dive.

By Brian Martucci • Aug. 5, 2026

Battery-eligible New Jersey VPP program begins to take shape

Utility-owned storage could help mitigate grid congestion, a utility manager said at a July stakeholder meeting. Another said customer-centric program design is crucial to reducing attrition.

By Brian Martucci • Aug. 4, 2026

V2G could deliver 15 times more value than one-way managed EV charging: report

The U.S. fleet of bidirectional-capable electric vehicles is growing, and regulatory reforms could help utilities unlock $7 billion in potential value, according to an E3 analysis.

By Brian Martucci • July 29, 2026

Best Buy adds more solar generation to portfolio

The new solar sites include the retailer’s first store with a rooftop “community solar garden” as it looks to a 2040 net-zero target.

By Lamar Johnson • July 20, 2026

We don’t need more proof that flexibility works. We need more people using it.

"Flexibility works. The real bottleneck is scaling participation fast enough to matter."

By Natasha Crowe, VP Marketing & Communications, Octopus Energy US • July 20, 2026

The distribution grid can be the unlikely hero of affordability

Distributed capacity has turned the distribution grid into a platform for capacity growth and increased grid utilization, not a cost center driving up rates, writes Sparkfund’s Pier LaFarge.

By Pier LaFarge • July 14, 2026

What the US can learn from Australia’s home battery boom

Australia's home battery boom offers the U.S. a blueprint for the data center energy surge.

By Sarah Russell-Smith, PhD, GM of Flex, Octopus Energy US • July 13, 2026

Illinois regulators approve ComEd VPP under new clean energy law

The program will discharge power from small batteries during events like the early-July heatwave that pushed PJM Interconnection demand to near-record levels.

By Brian Martucci • July 8, 2026

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

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

Platte River, EnergyHub partner to deploy 39-MW Colorado VPP

Platte River Power Authority plans to achieve 19 MW from customer-owned distributed resources by 2030, with the first virtual power plant programs launching this summer.

By Diana DiGangi • June 24, 2026

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

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

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

Massachusetts ‘vehicle-to-everything’ demonstration hints at EV batteries’ grid potential

Certain light-duty vehicles have the potential to earn around $3,000 per summer, and school buses $12,000, by enrolling in the state’s virtual power plant, a state program manager said.

By Brian Martucci • June 2, 2026

Access to real-time electricity data should be a basic consumer right

The technology exists and the infrastructure is there. What is missing is a requirement that customers have access to data on their electricity use, writes Joel Hicks at the University of Oregon.

By Joel Hicks • June 1, 2026

How utilities can add capacity in months, not years

For utilities managing surging electricity demand, a scalable, non-wires approach to expanding grid capacity can be deployed in just a few months.

June 1, 2026

New Mexico has the nation’s best DER interconnection policy: report

The state received high marks for its robust energy storage interconnection framework, frequent public reports on its interconnection queue and incorporating IEEE’s technical standard for DER interconnections.

By Brian Martucci • May 28, 2026

What the streaming wars can teach utilities about the AI data center boom

Utilities can avoid making the same mistakes major studios made in the Netflix era, but only if they view the AI boom as a systemwide modernization challenge rather than an overflowing queue of individual projects, writes Abbey O’Brien at Ulteig.

By Abbey O’Brien • May 27, 2026