Regulation & Policy


  • A natural gas-fired turbine power plant with it's cooling towers rising into a blue sky.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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
  • Cows graze in a field near a power plant.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Dec. 12, 2025
  • High voltage power lines seen from below Explore the Trendline
    Image attribution tooltip
    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Trendline

    Top 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
  • Nuclear power plant on a shore of Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania, on a winter sunny day.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Dec. 12, 2025
  • The California state flag waves in the wind.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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
  • Natural gas fired turbine power plant with it's cooling towers rising into a cloud filled blue sky.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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
  • An aerial view of a data center.
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Chad Davis is licensed under CC BY 2.0
    Image attribution tooltip
    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
  • data center energy management, UC Riverside,
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Dec. 9, 2025
  • A power plant with smoke stacks.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of McDermott International
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Dec. 8, 2025
  • U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in the Oval Office at the White House.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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
  • Service technicians work to install the foundation for a transmission tower.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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
  • Construction of Vogtle Nuclear Plant Unit 4
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Bechtel
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Dec. 5, 2025
  • Utility workers repair an electrical line.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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
  • Asheville Combined Cycle Station
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Duke Energy
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Dec. 4, 2025
  • 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 Dec. 3, 2025
  • An Amazon Web Services data center is shown situated near single-family homes
    Image attribution tooltip
    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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
  • Men stand near a power plant.
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Tikilucas is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Dec. 2, 2025
  • Steam rises from a power plant.
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by chaddavis.photography is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Dec. 2, 2025
  • A utility crew installs a new overhead switch.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brent Stirton via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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 Dec. 1, 2025
  • 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 Dec. 1, 2025
  • Nissan Smyrna Tennessee plant production line
    Image attribution tooltip

    Provided by Nissan Motor Co. 

    Image attribution tooltip

    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
  • A utility pole burns,
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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
  • President Donald Trump sits at a desk signing a document with several people wearing suits standing behind him.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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
  • A crane being used to build a data center.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Nov. 26, 2025
  • An aerial view of residential homes, many with solar panels.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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
  • Smoke billows from a coal-fired power plants smokestacks.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 Nov. 25, 2025