Grid Security & Reliability
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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 -
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 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Andrei Ksenzhuk via Getty ImagesTrendlineReliability
Rising peak demand, extreme weather and other factors are raising power outage risks in the U.S., but FERC and other stakeholders are pursuing multiple actions to address reliability concerns.
By Utility Dive staff -
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 Robert Walton • April 15, 2025 -
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 Robert Walton • April 14, 2025 -
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 -
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 Robert Walton • April 10, 2025 -
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 Ethan Howland • April 9, 2025 -
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 Robert Walton • April 7, 2025 -
AI model performance improvements show no signs of slowing down
The energy efficiency of AI models has increased by 40% each year, according to a report from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI.
By Lindsey Wilkinson • April 7, 2025 -
Sponsored by Torus
The undeniable case for American-made utility supply chains
Domestic manufacturing is the strategic solution to critical U.S. grid vulnerabilities
By Nate Walkingshaw, CEO and co-founder of Torus • April 7, 2025 -
SPP to rely on demand response to help bridge shrinking power supplies: CEO Nickell
“Excess generating capacity is dwindling, and it's dwindling to a point where it's becoming dangerous,” the Southwest Power Pool’s Lanny Nickell said Thursday.
By Ethan Howland • April 4, 2025 -
DOE offers 16 locations for possible data center, energy infrastructure development
The federal government is seeking input on data center “power needs, timelines, and approaches to co-locating energy sources with data centers or sources for surplus interconnection capacity.”
By Robert Walton • April 4, 2025 -
PG&E announces microgrid awards for $43M as Sunrun joins its 2025 VPP
The nine microgrid projects will serve about 9,000 customers in disadvantaged or vulnerable Northern California communities, the utility said.
By Brian Martucci • April 2, 2025 -
ISO New England issues transmission RFP to access new wind resources
The grid operator wants to upgrade the transmission system between northern Maine, where wind generation is expected to be built, and demand centers in southern New England.
By Robert Walton • April 1, 2025 -
Opinion
We asked 100 utility program leaders for their top challenges and opportunities. Here’s what they said.
Grid modernization, growing demand and artificial intelligence are among the top issues facing electric utility leaders, according to an ICF survey.
By Justin Mackovyak • March 31, 2025 -
Sponsored by WeaveGrid
What your grid models aren’t telling you about electric vehicles
Traditional load management ignores the biggest EV grid impacts. Distribution orchestration is key.
March 31, 2025 -
Utilities should develop data center tariffs to protect consumers, decarbonize: SWEEP
Rising data center electricity demands threaten utility decarbonization efforts, potentially requiring fossil fuel generation and pulling renewables away from other electrification efforts, per a Southwest Energy Efficiency Project report.
By Robert Walton • March 28, 2025 -
US energy infrastructure gets a D+ from American Society of Civil Engineers
The energy sector’s 2025 Infrastructure Report Card grade dropped from the C- it received in 2021, with ASCE citing several threats facing the aging grid.
By Diana DiGangi • March 27, 2025 -
Opinion
Outsmarting outages: AI predicts disruptions before they happen
As the energy landscape evolves with renewable resources and electric vehicles, the predictive outage model equips utilities with the agility needed to prioritize maintenance based on real-time data.
By Michael Juchno and Zaki Arifulla • March 27, 2025 -
PJM fast-track interconnection process draws 26.6 GW in proposals
LS Power offered 700 MW and AlphaGen proposed 450 MW in the grid operator’s Reliability Resource Initiative, the companies said.
By Ethan Howland • March 27, 2025 -
Deep Dive
Trump executive order threatens transmission, interconnection initiatives: former FERC commissioners
President Trump’s executive order compromises FERC’s independence, is “unhealthy, unwarranted, and unprecedented,” threatens power system reliability and is “plainly illegal,” the former commissioners say.
By Herman K. Trabish • March 26, 2025 -
Renew Home to roll out new VPP features this summer
Renew Home will work with energy providers to incorporate up-to-date tariffs and grid or capacity constraints into an aggregated resource that can dispatch within five minutes, the company said.
By Brian Martucci • March 25, 2025 -
Opinion
Why rolling blackouts are a thing of the past — and why President Trump is wrong on green energy
California and Texas show how energy storage can bridge the political divide to bolster grid reliability and lower costs.
By Tam Hunt • March 25, 2025 -
Sponsored by Renew Home
What if demand response wasn’t so… demanding?
By empowering households to save, we can also create a massive, reliable grid resource.
By Jeff Gleeson, Chief Product Officer at Renew Home • March 24, 2025 -
EPRI launches consortium to develop power sector AI applications
“AI has the great potential to revolutionize the power sector by delivering the capability to enhance grid reliability, optimize asset performance and enable more efficient energy management," EPRI’s Mansoor said.
By Brian Martucci • March 21, 2025