CAISO shifts transmission focus to reliability to meet peak demand growth

The California Independent System Operator detailed this shift in a report prepared for the governor and legislature as part of preparations for launching a new Western regional organization to oversee electricity markets.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 10, 2026

EPA extends coal ash landfill monitoring, cleanup deadlines

The Environmental Protection Agency’s action is part of a broad push by the Trump administration to support fossil-fueled power plants.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 10, 2026

Congressional ‘grid reliability’ bill is like duct tape on a cracked dam

Propping up expensive, dirty power plants threatens consumers with higher prices while punting systemic solutions further into the future, write colleagues from Energy Innovation.

By Mike O’Boyle and Silvio Marcacci • Feb. 9, 2026

New Jersey utilities begin to develop virtual power plants

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities asked for information from utilities on distributed energy resource hosting constraints and how new interconnections can be accelerated.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 9, 2026

EPA reconsiders Good Neighbor Plan that limited power plant emissions

The agency seeks to roll back the Biden-era program to cut ozone-forming emissions of nitrogen oxides from power plants and industrial facilities. This pollution often affects downwind states’s ability to meet Clean Air Act requirements.

By Jeffrey Kinney • Feb. 6, 2026

Manufacturers say AEP Ohio still inflating data center demand after halving forecast

AEP cut its large load forecast by more than 50% after regulators approved a new large load tariff. But the trade group said it does not reflect PJM’s load forecast methodology. 

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 6, 2026

Why regional manufacturing will power the next clean economy

If regions align around shared climate goals, fragmented progress can become a unified national movement, write Lara Croushore from SecondMuse and Stacey Weismiller of the American Manufacturing Futures Institute.

By Lara Croushore and Stacey Weismiller • Feb. 5, 2026

White House launches environmental review permitting tool pilot

The platform, CE Works, is intended to help agencies determine whether a project qualifies for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act.

By Matthew Thibault • Feb. 5, 2026

Utilities face cost-recovery risk as infrastructure costs, demand rise: Morningstar

With metal costs soaring, utilities will pay more for key grid parts such as transmission lines, distribution feeders and transformers, analysts with the ratings agency said.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 5, 2026

Federal energy assistance programs survive budget gauntlet

Budget bills passed by Congress and signed by President Trump maintain funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Weatherization Assistance Program.

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 4, 2026

AI, ICE protests and karaoke: DistribuTECH comes to San Diego

“As an industry, we’ve gone from ‘Keep the lights on and stay out of the news,’ to now being the lead story for energy independence, national security and AI development,” said Del Misenheimer, GE Vernova’s VP and CEO of grid automation and software.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 4, 2026

House lawmakers press FERC on affordability, reliability and gas

Commissioners cited inadequate transmission infrastructure as a major concern. A gas-fired project in the PJM Interconnection needs $1 billion in grid upgrades to come online, said Commissioner David Rosner.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 4, 2026

Tariffs lifted nonresidential construction costs 3.2% in 2025

Trade policy will “continue to put upward pressure on certain materials” in 2026, said the chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors. In December, copper wire and cable jumped 22% year over year. Iron and steel were up 12%.

By Sebastian Obando • Feb. 3, 2026

Quick fixes won’t solve high energy bills

As grid spending increases, policymakers should look beyond residential customers to cover costs, writes Arjun Krishnaswami, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists.

By Arjun Krishnaswami • Feb. 3, 2026

Transmission planning, development improved since 2023 in most US regions: report

However, the grade for Texas slipped to a "D-” and the Southeast continues to get failing marks, according to a report released Tuesday by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 3, 2026

The AI boom needs power. Tariffs can make it fair.

Large load tariffs can be used to deliver community benefits, lock in clean, reliable power and strengthen energy resilience, writes Ava Community Energy’s Olivia Vasquez.

By Olivia Vasquez • Feb. 2, 2026

Coal plant owners say DOE ‘emergency’ order to run it violates Constitution

By mandating the generator’s availability to operate, the order “constitutes both a physical taking and a regulatory taking” of property by the government without just compensation or due process, they said in a request for rehearing. 

By Ethan Howland • Updated Feb. 2, 2026

Artificial intelligence in energy markets: The case for AI-ready data and human expertise

Power markets are moving quickly. Combining AI with human expertise can help you keep up.

By Sonal Sakhardande, Vice President of Software Engineering, Yes Energy & Maria Torres, Solutions Engineer, Yes Energy • Feb. 2, 2026

2026 US power sector outlook

Read Utility Dive's road map to the year ahead for FERC, affordability, renewable energy, distributed energy resources and more. 

By Meris Lutz • Jan. 30, 2026

Customers, don’t expect electric bill relief in 2026: ‘The cake is baked.’

Energy affordability has long been a problem for the poorest Americans, but now middle-income families are starting to feel the squeeze.

By Robert Walton • Jan. 30, 2026

PJM prepares to call on data center, large load backup generation to avoid blackouts

However, it is unclear how much generation could be available, and the grid operator doubts it will be needed during the ongoing bitter cold.

By Ethan Howland • Updated Jan. 30, 2026

NERC forecasts peak demand to rise 24% on new data center loads

“The system is changing faster than the infrastructure needed to support it,” said John Moura, NERC's director of reliability assessments and performance analysis.

By Robert Walton • Jan. 30, 2026

Lessons from launching New Jersey’s largest utility-led EV program

Growing PSE&G’s electric vehicle initiative from a pilot to a full-scale program required flexibility and persistence, writes Dawn Neville, the utility’s senior manager of electric transportation.

By Dawn Neville • Jan. 29, 2026

Republican, Democratic senators call for project certainty at permitting reform hearing

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said permitting talks could resume if the Trump administration stops its moves to thwart wind and solar projects.

By Ethan Howland • Jan. 29, 2026

FERC in 2026: Rising costs cloud regulators’ options on data centers, transmission and more

DOE’s colocation proposal and transmission planning reforms will set FERC’s agenda this year against a backdrop of rising concern over affordability, former commission chairmen and experts say in our 2026 outlook.

By Ethan Howland • Jan. 29, 2026