FERC floats ‘ride-through’ reliability standards for wind, solar, batteries, plus 5 other open meeting takeaways

The standards are the first in what is expected to be a suite of NERC rules for inverter-based resources, which can trip offline during grid disturbances.

By Ethan Howland • Dec. 20, 2024

‘Explosive’ demand growth puts more than half of North America at risk of blackouts: NERC

“Simply put, our infrastructure is not being built fast enough to keep up with the rising demand,” said John Moura, NERC’s director of reliability assessments and planning analysis.

By Robert Walton • Updated June 17, 2025

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Reliability

A curated selection of recent stories that explore advances in policy and technology to address reliability, as well as the reliability risks the U.S. power system is facing.

By Utility Dive staff

NERC adopts 2 new standards to boost extreme weather reliability

The board also adopted three standards modifications to bolster critical infrastructure protection and energy assurance.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 16, 2024

Texas task force aims to ‘tear down barriers’ to virtual power plant pilot as participation lags

The aggregated DER pilot, which includes Tesla and Bandera Electric as participants, aims to harness 80 MW of flexible resources on the Texas grid, but it has not reached that goal due to various limitations.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 11, 2024

Five-year US load growth forecast surges 456%, to 128 GW: Grid Strategies

U.S. electricity demand is forecast to increase 15.8% by 2029, according to a new report from Grid Strategies, which called the findings “shocking.” Six regions of the country are driving the growth.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 6, 2024

Clean firm generation is an important piece of the energy transition, but it’s no silver bullet

Due to the high cost of clean firm energy, it may be best considered as part of a broader generation portfolio that relies on much lower cost wind and solar most of the time.

By Michelle Solomon • Dec. 5, 2024

When TOU rates aren’t enough: BGE, other utilities expand active managed charging for rising EV load

With over 3 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads, managed charging pilots need to be scaled before infrastructure upgrade costs start rising, analysts and utility executives agree.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 4, 2024

A costly lesson in supply and demand: How to address PJM’s capacity shortages

The first law of holes says that you should stop digging when you’re in one. It’s time to stop retiring dispatchable resources if we don’t want the hole we’re in to get any deeper.

By Michelle Bloodworth • Dec. 3, 2024

Critical infrastructure at a crossroads: Securing our distributed energy future

A resilient, secure energy grid requires a strong foundation and unified collaboration.

By Nate Walkingshaw, CEO & Co-Founder of Torus • Dec. 2, 2024

EPRI, Kraken advance DER interoperability standards to boost virtual power plant deployment

“Without interoperability standards, VPPs cannot reach scalability, affordability, and reliability as soon or as efficiently as they will be needed,” said Arshad Mansoor, CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 27, 2024

AI power demands are rising, and so are attacks on utilities. Here’s what they can do about it.

While the spike in electricity demand from artificial intelligence creates exciting new opportunities for utilities, it also makes them a prime target for both physical and cyberattacks.

By Carmelo McCutcheon • Nov. 27, 2024

2024 election: US electric power sector impacts

The U.S. energy transition continues, but the shape and pace of change will be significantly impacted by the results of the federal election — for some issues more than others.

By Larry Pearl , Diana DiGangi , Robert Walton , Ethan Howland • Nov. 27, 2024

New York City faces potential electricity resource shortfalls in 2033, 2034: ISO

Transportation and building electrification, along with commercial projects like data centers and chip fabrication, are driving peak demand higher, according to the New York Independent System Operator.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 26, 2024

Affordability, data center growth and more: 9 state utility regulators reveal their top challenges

Utility commissioners from across the U.S. say their most pressing issue is balancing affordability with the utility spending required to meet demand growth and maintain reliability.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 26, 2024

As bitcoin’s price and energy demand surge, Texas requires some miners to register with utility commission

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wants his state to be “an oasis" for bitcoin. But utility regulators say they need greater visibility into the stress that mining operators put on the electric grid. 

By Robert Walton • Nov. 25, 2024

A model tariff can speed distributed power plant deployment and lower grid modernization costs

Distributed power plants can improve system resilience now, complementing longer-term grid upgrades that will take years or decades to build.  

By America Garcia and Shannon Anderson • Nov. 22, 2024

Digital twins reimagined at scale for utilities

Digital twins of assets will play an increasing role in helping improve operational efficiency.

By Phil Schwarz • Nov. 18, 2024

Natural gas supply is a bulk power reliability risk this winter: NERC

Gas producers have taken “a multitude of proactive measures to prepare for winter weather," Natural Gas Supply Association CEO Dena Wiggins said.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 15, 2024

TSA proposes cyber risk management programs for pipeline operators, surface transportation

The proposed rule would also require the disclosure of cyber incidents to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and physical security concerns to the Transportation Security Administration.

By David Jones • Nov. 8, 2024

Trump win is ‘setback’ for climate protection, but clean energy advocates say progress will continue

Trump’s victory means a Republican will be selected to lead FERC, which will likely work to rein in transmission incentives, said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 6, 2024

Schneider Electric investigating cyber intrusion after threat actor gains access to platform

The French multinational company has been a previous target of ransomware groups.

By David Jones • Nov. 5, 2024

US should add 35 GW of interregional power transfer capacity to boost energy adequacy: NERC

NERC said its new study “demonstrates a significant opportunity to optimize reserve use during extreme weather events and shows how transmission can maximize the use of local resources, including storage and demand response.”

By Robert Walton • Nov. 5, 2024

To minimize AI’s cyber risks to energy infrastructure, start with the design phase

Artificial intelligence will escalate cyber threats, and — if left unprotected — it could create new vulnerabilities at the heart of energy infrastructure.

By Leo Simonovich • Oct. 31, 2024

Grid-interactive efficient building systems need robust cybersecurity measures, DOE says

Federal facilities managers must assess the potential risks of GEB systems and understand how they can affect the physical and data security of overarching systems where they are deployed, the Department of Energy says. 

By Brian Martucci • Oct. 30, 2024

CenterPoint acquires smaller generators to aid in grid restorations, following Hurricane Beryl criticism

An independent analysis of CenterPoint’s July storm response included 77 recommendations, two-thirds of which the utility has already completed or is in the process of implementing.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 29, 2024