Don’t gut the utility model just as we need it most

Cutting utility returns won't lower electric bills and will leave us with a more fragile power grid, writes Scott Aaronson, former secretary of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council.

By Scott Aaronson • July 22, 2026

3 practical steps to ensure the US industrial boom runs on electricity

Long-term electricity procurement, on-site generation, efficiency and flexibility can give manufacturers more ways to manage their energy bills, writes the World Wildlife Fund’s Cihang Yuan.

By Cihang Yuan • July 21, 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

FERC fails to shield PJM consumers from data center transmission costs: ratepayer advocates

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s large load “show cause” order for the PJM Interconnection fails to address cost allocation of network upgrades, advocates from five states said.

By Ethan Howland • July 21, 2026

Data centers drove $6.3B in PJM capacity auction costs: market monitor

In the PJM’s last four capacity auctions, data center-related capacity charges were nearly half of the $63.6 billion in total charges, Monitoring Analytics says.

By Ethan Howland • July 20, 2026

PJM capacity auction results compound ‘alarm bells’: FERC Chairman Swett

At its monthly meeting, FERC set data center reliability standard deadlines, ordered CAISO and SPP to report on “seams” issues and advanced a complaint over cost recovery for a New Jersey power line.

By Ethan Howland • July 17, 2026

Indiana regulators investigate utility ROEs, ‘trackers’ in affordability review

AES, American Electric Power, CenterPoint Energy, Duke Energy and NiSource could be affected under a “more consumer-oriented utility commission policy,” Paul Patterson, a Glenrock Associates equity analyst, told Utility Dive.

By Ethan Howland • July 16, 2026

Retail electric rate increases outpace inflation with prices set to rise higher

Regulators approved 64% of the dollar value of revenue increase requests over the past five years, suggesting today’s rate cases will continue to raise bills, according to a recent report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

By Brian Martucci • July 16, 2026

The grid’s fastest-growing resource isn’t generation. It’s flexibility.

The technology is there. The institutions are not. FERC’s July 23 technical conference on the PJM Interconnection’s governance is where that gap gets addressed — or doesn’t, writes Jeanine Johnson, a former member of the grid operator’s board.

By Jeanine Johnson • July 15, 2026

PJM capacity prices hit price cap, reserve shortfall grows

“The outcome demonstrates that the current system doesn’t work to bring online new capacity or stimulate demand response, the two things we need the most,” Aurora Energy’s Julia Hoos told Utility Dive, warning of “an intervention doom loop.”

By Ethan Howland • July 15, 2026

Pennsylvania data centers face increased oversight under new law

Data centers will now have to provide annual energy usage reports to the state, and the PJM Interconnection will need to give state regulators additional insight into its demand forecasting.

By Diana DiGangi • July 14, 2026

Utilities requested $9.2B in rate hikes in Q2: PowerLines

Dominion Energy in Virginia is seeking about $1.5 billion in increases across three rate requests, the report said. Oncor in Texas requested the largest single increase in Q2 at $1.2 billion, driven largely by transmission and distribution investments.

By Ethan Howland • July 14, 2026

DHS proposes new critical infrastructure security framework

The Trump administration eliminated the previous framework in 2025, sparking backlash from experts and infrastructure operators.

By Eric Geller • July 14, 2026

Illinois governor signs laws on utility bill transparency, financial assistance

Alignment between the state’s progressive governor and Republican state lawmakers underscores a bipartisan consensus on the urgency of addressing public anger over electricity bills.

By Meris Lutz • July 14, 2026

PG&E faces $22M penalty for Mosquito Fire under proposed agreement

The 2022 fire burned more than 75,000 acres and dozens of structures. A subsequent investigation of PG&E’s infrastructure found violations of state rules for the design, construction and maintenance of overhead electrical lines.

By Meris Lutz • July 13, 2026

Former FERC officials concerned about Supreme Court Slaughter decision impacts

“Stripping those agencies of their independence will leave consumers exposed to the worst aspects of competitive markets without the protections of informed regulatory review,” said former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff.

By Herman K. Trabish • July 10, 2026

What can best ease transmission bottlenecks? More transfer capacity, DOE says.

Transmission congestion added $12 billion in wholesale power costs in 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy said in a draft report on U.S. transmission needs.

By Ethan Howland • July 10, 2026

PJM status quo ‘untenable’: FERC Commissioner LaCerte

“Looking at things differently is hard, especially in entrenched utilities that have been doing this for a long time,” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member said.

By Ethan Howland • July 9, 2026

IRA clean energy gains mostly on track despite OBBBA, says MIT study

74% of all new clean electricity capacity that would have been added under the Inflation Reduction Act will be preserved despite Trump administration policy changes, the report estimates, including 82% of utility-scale solar generation.

By Diana DiGangi • July 8, 2026

New Jersey increases transmission oversight in ‘affordability’ push

New Jersey’s governor signed bills that aim to cut transmission owners’ return on equity, establish data center tariffs and require state approval for “supplementary” transmission projects.

By Ethan Howland • July 8, 2026

Exelon, FirstEnergy utilities’ RTO adder targeted by Maryland in FERC complaint

Maryland state agencies asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to end an extra 0.5% return the transmission owners earn for being PJM Interconnection members.

By Ethan Howland • July 7, 2026

States are taking action on energy affordability as issue grows: report

U.S. regulators and lawmakers have taken more than 350 energy affordability actions so far this year, but the problem is persistent, say researchers from the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center.

By Robert Walton • July 7, 2026

FERC denies waiver for $2B gas-fired plant in PJM’s fast-track review

Giving Advanced Power Services a waiver from the PJM Interconnection’s rules could harm other project developers, the agency said.

By Ethan Howland • July 6, 2026

DOE wants to ‘permanently end’ appliance efficiency requirements

A proposed rule would create an “obstacle course of restrictions” bogging down the Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency program, a consumer advocate said.

By Robert Walton • Updated July 2, 2026

PJM stakeholders advance data center backstop procurement plan

The PJM Interconnection’s board expects to file a proposal for meeting its near-term power supply needs with federal regulators this month, with a goal of holding the backstop auction in September.

By Ethan Howland • July 2, 2026

Why the true cost of new gas plants is much higher than the sticker price

When reviewing gas-fired power plant proposals, regulators often fail to consider pipeline, fuel and storage costs, which can add about 30% to a project’s total cost, GridLab’s Cassady Craighill writes.

By Cassady Craighill • July 2, 2026