Regulation & Policy
-
OpinionCertainty through transparency: A new planning paradigm for data center loads
To keep pace with accelerating digital demand, we need utility frameworks that are more transparent, more flexible and more responsive, Stack Infrastructure’s Tim Hughes writes.
By Tim Hughes • Dec. 9, 2025 -
Getty Images
PJM, others challenge large load interconnection filings at FERC
Power producer and data center trade groups, the PJM Interconnection and utilities urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject calls for action on the grid operator’s large load rules.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 9, 2025 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
TrendlineTop 5 Stories from Utility Dive
Power demand is rising amid dramatic shifts in federal energy policy, but technology and markets continue to push the grid toward cleaner, more distributed resources.
By Utility Dive staff -
Courtesy of McDermott International
With antitrust settlement, Constellation set to become largest US wholesale power provider
The agreement is the first settlement consent decree the DOJ’s antitrust division has filed in an electricity merger in 14 years. It came days after the U.S. solicitor general urged the U.S. Supreme Court to allow a separate antitrust case against Duke Energy to proceed.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 8, 2025 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
US Energy Department offers $134M to boost rare earth recovery projects
Rare earths, a specific critical mineral group of metals, are vital components in advanced manufacturing, defense systems and high-performance magnets used in power generation and electric motors.
By Antone Gonsalves • Dec. 8, 2025 -
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
OpinionThe SPEED Act is an opportunity to align permitting policy with grid reality
Reform is overdue, and the House deserves credit for pushing it forward. But Congress should apply it to multistate transmission in its entirety, not in bits and pieces, says Christina Hayes, Grid Action executive director.
By Christina Hayes • Dec. 5, 2025 -
Courtesy of Bechtel
Rein in CWIP to protect ratepayers from bloated infrastructure costs: report
When utilities use “construction work in progress” accounting, “cost overruns become profit opportunities rather than financial penalties,” the authors of a Manhattan Institute brief said. They pointed to Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion as a prime example.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 5, 2025 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
California issues enforcement advisory on climate disclosure law
The California Air Resources Board issued guidance on SB 261, which requires large companies to submit climate-related financial risk disclosures, after its implementation was halted by the Ninth Circuit last month.
By Zoya Mirza • Dec. 4, 2025 -
Courtesy of Duke Energy
US solicitor general tells Supreme Court to reject Duke Energy antitrust appeal
“This appeal arises out of a campaign by an established monopolist to stop a more efficient rival from disturbing its long-dominant hold over a regional energy market,” U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer said.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 4, 2025 -
Retrieved from U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.
China seeks long-term vulnerabilities in US energy systems: House panelists
“Today's electricity grid is too often a hodgepodge of digital tools sitting atop an analog foundation, creating seams where adversaries can slip in,” Carnegie Mellon’s Harry Krejsa said.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 3, 2025 -
Nathan Howard via Getty Images
OpinionSolving PJM’s data center problem
The grid operator must stop buying capacity for new data centers. Instead, it can provide them with only interruptible service until they bring their own capacity, write Tom Rutigliano and Claire Lang-Ree of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
By Tom Rutigliano and Claire Lang-Ree • Dec. 2, 2025 -
The image by Tikilucas is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
FERC urged to reject AEP waiver request for PJM capacity sale
It appears American Electric Power’s utilities want to offload capacity they acquired to serve data centers that didn’t materialize, Monitoring Analytics and the PJM Power Providers Group said.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 2, 2025 -
The image by chaddavis.photography is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
MISO begins reviewing 6.1 GW — 70% of it gas — in fast-track interconnection study
The grid operator’s Expedited Resource Addition Study process has grown to 11.2 GW, with an additional 18 GW seeking to join the initiative.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 2, 2025 -
Brent Stirton via Getty Images
Deep DiveUtilities, regulators look to accelerate pilots to achieve speed-to-innovation
Stakeholders say clear cost limits, timelines and parameters for scaling can overcome the inertia of a traditionally risk-averse industry.
By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 1, 2025 -
Retrieved from Grand River Dam Authority.
Power plants in SPP can expand up to 20% under new FERC-approved fast-track review
Developers must show that the necessary financing and equipment has been secured and that the project can be online within five years.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 1, 2025 -
Provided by Nissan Motor Co.
Tariffs continue to weigh on manufacturing as PMI index shows contraction
“We do not see anything on the horizon that’s going to turn the ship until there is more certainty ... with the legality of the tariffs,” said Susan Spence, chair of the ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
By Sara Samora • Dec. 1, 2025 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
OpinionData centers are breaking the old grid. Let AI build the new one.
Utilities that embrace artificial intelligence will set reliability and affordability standards for decades to come, writes Hari Vasudevan, founder and CEO of KYRO AI.
By Hari Vasudevan • Nov. 26, 2025 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
EPA moves to roll back Biden-era particulate limits, signaling a major shift in clean air policy
The agency asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn the 2024 “soot standard,” citing incomplete scientific analysis and projected compliance costs.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Nov. 26, 2025 -
Getty Images
No more PJM data centers unless they can be reliably served: market monitor
The PJM Interconnection’s market monitor urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rule that large data centers can only come online if the grid operator can still meet reliability metrics.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 26, 2025 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
OpinionStates must advance technology-neutral permitting to support clean energy
A competitive environment is necessary for rapid innovation and cost reduction as federal support evaporates, say Leila Banijamali and Zachary Millimet of Symbium.
By Leila Banijamali and Zachary Millimet • Nov. 25, 2025 -
Getty Images
FERC urged to reject 370-MW NorthWestern Colstrip PPA
The Montana Environmental Information Center contends the power purchase agreement with Mercuria could harm NorthWestern Energy’s ratepayers.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 25, 2025 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
DOE large load interconnection proposal sparks federal-state jurisdiction concerns
State regulators, lawmakers and ratepayer advocates voiced alarm over the department’s interconnection proposal, while the Data Center Coalition offered qualified support.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 24, 2025 -
Nathan Howard via Getty Images
FERC approves PECO-Amazon data center transmission agreement
The pact raises “significant questions” about how the agency and states will protect existing customers from the costs of adding large loads to the grid, FERC Commissioner Judy Chang warned.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 24, 2025 -
Ron Jenkins via Getty Images
The week in 5 numbers: Power outages stretch, data center load overstated
Winter peak demand is rising faster than resource additions, and a bribery scandal ends with a massive payout.
By Meris Lutz • Nov. 21, 2025 -
Retrieved from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
New FERC commissioners say connecting data centers is key priority
The agency also will look at how to streamline permitting for certain liquefied natural gas and hydroelectric projects, per its open meeting on Thursday.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 21, 2025 -
Retrieved from US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ohio PUC orders FirstEnergy utilities to pay $250.7M over HB 6 bribery scandal
The decision “closes a chapter tied to activities that do not represent the company we are today,” according to FirstEnergy, which has paid $390 million in other fines related to the scandal.
By Ethan Howland • Nov. 20, 2025
