Regulation & Policy
-
Opinion
CCS generation projects are coming. New ways to track and claim their emissions must follow.
Clean energy buyers need a mechanism to claim the low-carbon attributes of carbon capture and storage to advance this method of reducing CO2 emissions from electric generation, NorthBridge Group experts write.
By Iain Kaplan and Gustaf Michaelsen • Dec. 12, 2025 -
The week in 5 numbers: DOJ ramps up antitrust action, Texas’ grid growth may slow
Plus, the turbine backlog that isn’t going away.
By Meris Lutz • Dec. 12, 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 -
FERC poised to issue decision on colocating large loads in PJM
The agency’s plan to issue an order at its Dec. 18 open meeting is likely a boon for nuclear and gas-fired power plant owners that want to sell electricity to colocated data centers, analysts said.
By Ethan Howland • Dec. 12, 2025 -
California releases draft text for climate disclosure regulations
Entities covered by SB 253 — which mandates emissions reporting from companies generating over $1 billion in revenue — would need to submit their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by Aug. 10, 2026.
By Lamar Johnson • Dec. 11, 2025 -
Opinion
Permitting reform is critical to meeting our AI moon shot
Congress can either deliver durable permitting reform or continue outsourcing America’s future to Moscow and Beijing, writes Tim Tarpley, president of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council.
By Tim Tarpley • Dec. 10, 2025 -
Opinion
Certainty 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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
Opinion
The 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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
Opinion
Solving 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 -
Deep Dive
Utilities, 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 -
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 -
Opinion
Data 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 -
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 -
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 -
Opinion
States 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 -
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