Grid Security & Reliability

  • Wind turbines stand behind a solar power park.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    GOP supporters of IRA clean energy credits outline reconciliation bill recommendations

    Fourteen Republicans asked to maintain the tax credit transferability mechanism through the phase-out period and make two other adjustments to the clean energy tax credit changes.

    By Lamar Johnson • May 20, 2025
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom takes notes during a news conference at Gemperle Orchard on April 16, 2025 in Ceres, California.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Newsom proposes steep cuts to California grid reliability programs

    The changes could undermine progress that's been made to shore up the state’s energy resources during emergencies, advocates say.

    By • Updated May 19, 2025
  • Utility maintenance trucks drive past downed power lines on their way to make repairs August 15, 2004 in Punta Gorda, Florida. Explore the Trendline➔
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama / Staff via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Trendline

    Grid Resiliency

    Utilities and grid operators are facing increasing threats from climate change as well as cyber and physical attacks, and are deploying a variety of responses to meet the rising challenges.

    By Utility Dive staff
  • solar panel inverters, 'rogue' communication devices, Chinese government
    Image attribution tooltip
    romaset via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    ‘Rogue’ communication devices found on Chinese-made solar power inverters

    The devices could give adversaries a way to disable power grids, damage energy infrastructure and trigger blackouts, specialists say. 

    By Robert Freedman • May 15, 2025
  • An Amazon cloud data center under construction in Aldie, Virginia on Feb. 10, 2024.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Gerville via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    A fraction of proposed data centers will get built. Utilities are wising up.

    One expert estimated that speculative interconnection requests were five to 10 times more than the number of actual data centers, but the scale of the problem remains elusive.

    By Brian Martucci • May 15, 2025
  • High voltage transmission lines are seen against an orange sky in Texas.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Summer demand is soaring and inverter-based resources are a ‘key risk’: NERC

    The North American Electric Reliability Corp. plans to issue an alert within the next month regarding inverter-based resources and the risks they present, officials said.

    By • May 15, 2025
  • Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Amid record demand rise, efficiency and demand response can lower Texas power bills: Aurora

    Adding 7.7 GW of demand-side response capacity to the ERCOT grid could eliminate the need for about 1 GW of gas-fired peaking capacity, according to the report.

    By • May 14, 2025
  • Custom-engineered Mobile Transformer
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Hitachi Energy
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sponsored by Hitachi Energy

    Building tomorrow’s power grid

    Hitachi Energy is innovating the grid with mobile, digital, and sustainable transformer solutions.

    May 12, 2025
  • Empty grasslands with electrical towers running through it
    Image attribution tooltip
    Blackbeck via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    SPP proposes one-time framework to speed generation interconnection

    Southwest Power Pool will file the Expedited Resource Adequacy Study process with federal regulators later this month. Excess capacity in the region is expected to fall to 5% in 2029, officials said.

    By • May 9, 2025
  • Power line and worker over sky.
    Image attribution tooltip
    imagedepotpro via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    Navigating 4 key trends and challenges shaping the power industry

    2025 will be pivotal in how utilities handle workforce shortages, the energy transition and a range of grid reliability and resilience issues.

    By Matt Carrara • May 7, 2025
  • Rows of photovoltaic solar panels cross a green field with trees in the distance.
    Image attribution tooltip
    RoschetzkyIstockPhoto via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Texas renewables restrictions could increase power prices by 14% in 2035: Aurora

    Reliability would also suffer — and load-shedding events become more likely — in a renewables-restricted future amid a years-long gas turbine backlog, Aurora said.

    By Brian Martucci • May 6, 2025
  • A worker installs a solar panel on a flat, white rooftop with a palm tree in the background.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Sunrun
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    Puerto Rico’s rooftop solar boom is strengthening grid resilience — why is a federal board trying to stop it?

    With thousands of new smart-enabled solar homes joining the grid each month, Puerto Rico is building a distributed, responsive network that can help manage grid fluctuations in real time.

    By PJ Wilson • May 1, 2025
  • H&R Block, TaxSlayer, pixels, data privacy disclosure, DOJ
    Image attribution tooltip
    Peach_iStock via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    EPRI’s Open Power AI Consortium plans to fuel grid modernization with data sharing

    Utilities, tech companies and regulators are facing a conundrum: Utilities want to use AI, but AI needs access to unavailable utility data to be effective.

    By • Updated April 29, 2025
  • Four pipelines covered in snow.
    Image attribution tooltip
    imaginima via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    National Grid, Con Edison, other utilities urge FERC to consider gas pipeline reliability measures

    “The challenges facing interstate pipelines … continue to intensify warranting greater regulatory involvement and standardization of practices,” the utilities said.

    By • April 28, 2025
  • Plumes of steam rise from data center buildings.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Google
    Image attribution tooltip

    Smaller, public utilities see growth potential in data centers, but there are risks: APPA

    Utility leaders can take steps to attract potentially lucrative large loads while mitigating risks for existing customers, the American Public Power Association says.

    By Brian Martucci • April 24, 2025
  • An aerial view of eight large battery storage containers in a fenced-in lot.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Lightshift Energy
    Image attribution tooltip

    Lightshift to build 11-MW storage project for Virginia municipal utility

    Danville Utilities intends to use the project to cut its peak demand in an effort to lower transmission and capacity charges by about $30 million.

    By • April 24, 2025
  • Aerial View of Coal-Fired Power Station in Winter.
    Image attribution tooltip
    AerialPerspective Works via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Cold-weather grid performance improves, plus 4 other FERC open meeting takeaways

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie defended the PJM Interconnection amid an uproar over its capacity market.

    By • April 18, 2025
  • Schneider, data center consulting
    Image attribution tooltip
    alacatr via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Schneider Electric debuts data center consulting service

    EcoConsult for Data Centers offers a road map to boost operational efficiency, maximize uptime and extend equipment and facility service life, Schneider says.

    By Brian Martucci • April 17, 2025
  • Steam rises from a power plant with construction equipment in the foreground.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Gerville via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    The US is facing unprecedented load growth. Here’s how we ensure resource adequacy.

    Adding sufficient resources fast enough to reliably meet the growth will require an array of demand- and supply-side resources as well as stronger transmission interconnection planning.

    By Samuel Newell • April 17, 2025
  • donald trump signs an executive order at his desk
    Image attribution tooltip
    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Trump administration ordered to resume IRA funding

    The decision, which stated federal agencies lacked authority to pause funding, follows the president’s executive order to freeze the money on his first day in office. 

    By Kate Magill • April 17, 2025
  • Puerto Rico's capitol building in San Juan
    Image attribution tooltip
    "The Capitol of Puerto Rico" by Jorge Láscar is licensed under CC BY 2.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    LUMA installs Puerto Rico’s first smart meter

    Through a partnership with Itron, the smart meter installations are starting in the capital of San Juan and will extend island-wide over three years, LUMA says.

    By • April 15, 2025
  • Electric power lines cross a snow-covered field.
    Image attribution tooltip
    JPDworld via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NERC proposes cold weather reliability standard

    Quickly addressing generator freezing issues “will help ensure that the grid is better equipped to withstand and recover from extreme cold weather,” the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said.

    By • April 14, 2025
  • A construction site with two cranes.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Gerville via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    The AI infrastructure race hits a political reality check

    The AI-driven data center boom has created demand for land, electricity and water, a dynamic that has spawned growing opposition from communities, utility grid operators and regulators.

    By Joe Brettell and Jeff Berkowitz • April 10, 2025
  • Capitol Hill lit up at night
    Image attribution tooltip
    Win McNamee via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Lawmakers mull government-wide supply chain improvement effort

    Congress is debating the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act at a time when demand for electricity is rising and supplies of critical grid equipment are constrained.

    By • April 10, 2025
  • Fort Martin power station on the banks of the Monongahela river.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Backyard Production via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Trump aims to boost coal, in part by ordering power plants to stay open

    However, the executive orders will likely have little effect on coal-fired generation, according to analysts.

    By • April 9, 2025
  • ge-vernova
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of GE Vernova
    Image attribution tooltip

    US electricity demand will grow 50% by 2050, electrical manufacturer study finds

    Data centers and transportation electrification will drive U.S. electricity demand about 2% higher each year for the next quarter century, according to a new analysis completed for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

    By • April 7, 2025