Access to real-time electricity data should be a basic consumer right

The technology exists and the infrastructure is there. What is missing is a requirement that customers have access to data on their electricity use, writes Joel Hicks at the University of Oregon.

By Joel Hicks • June 1, 2026

Once you secure SPARK funds for transmission development, what comes next?

The success of DOE’s SPARK initiative will depend on how prepared organizations are to execute once the funding arrives, writes Al Eliasen, Spatial Business Systems CEO.

By Al Eliasen • May 29, 2026

Explore the 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

New Mexico has the nation’s best DER interconnection policy: report

The state received high marks for its robust energy storage interconnection framework, frequent public reports on its interconnection queue and incorporating IEEE’s technical standard for DER interconnections.

By Brian Martucci • May 28, 2026

Hyperscalers didn’t set out to be power companies. The grid left them no choice.

The power gap left hyperscalers with no alternative but to take on utility-scale obligations and lock up gigawatts of generation, writes Peak Nano CMO Shaun Walsh.

By Shaun Walsh • May 28, 2026

Oregon PUC approves PGE’s large-load tariff framework for data centers

The order shifts more infrastructure costs and interconnection obligations to hyperscale customers while positioning Oregon’s 2025 POWER Act as an early test of how states manage AI-driven load growth.

By Marlene Wilden • May 28, 2026

MISO pushes back on utility complaint over competitive transmission bidding

The grid operator stopped short of taking a position on the complaint itself. States and consumer advocates oppose it, while at least one major data center company supports it.

By Ethan Howland • May 28, 2026

How Illinois’ energy policy blueprint can address affordability, reliability

By betting on efficiency, storage, long-term energy planning and grid flexibility, the Illinois’ Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act offers a blueprint for the state’s energy future, Vote Solar’s John Delurey writes.

By John Delurey • May 26, 2026

Competitive transmission projects come online faster than incumbent projects in 4 regions: R Street

Completed competitive transmission projects are also about 30% less expensive than comparable incumbent utility projects, according to a report from the think tank. 

By Ethan Howland • May 26, 2026

Building an affordable energy future

Customer affordability is becoming a defining priority for utilities as investment costs and energy demands continue to rise.

May 26, 2026

US summer generating capacity increases by 75 GW since 2025: FERC

Capacity additions include about 26 GW in Texas, 13 GW in the Western Electric Coordinating Council region and 11 GW in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market, FERC said.

By Ethan Howland • May 22, 2026

Puerto Rico’s power grid is ‘suspended between two realities,’ top utility regulator says

Affordability, reliability and the need to restore public confidence almost a decade after Hurricane Maria are top concerns, writes PREB Chairman Edison Avilés.

By Edison Avilés • May 22, 2026

AEP, other Ohio utilities could own nuclear power plants under state bill

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association opposes the bill, saying it would give utilities a path back into the generation business with customers bearing the financial risks.

By Ethan Howland • May 22, 2026

New Mexico regulators scrutinize Blackstone-TXNM stock trade in merger review

Consumer and renewable energy advocates say the stock transaction gave Blackstone an early stake in TXNM Energy before regulators could negotiate acquisition-related conditions or customer protections. The companies deny wrongdoing.

By Marlene Wilden • May 21, 2026

Nuclear fuel is the weak link in US energy security: Centrus CMO

America must rebuild its nuclear fuel supply chain to reduce geopolitical risk, writes Centrus Energy CMO John Donelson. “No one company can do it alone.”

By John Donelson • May 21, 2026

FERC Commissioner Chang is ‘not thinking about’ breaking up PJM

“I'm interested in the successful continued operation of PJM, but definitely I want to help them get through this period,” FERC Commissioner Judy Chang told Utility Dive. She called the proposed NextEra-Dominion merger “interesting.”

By Diana DiGangi • May 21, 2026

Common‑sense state action can unlock a geothermal revolution in Utah and beyond

Pairing geothermal with accelerated transmission development and stronger regional coordination can help the West access its gigawatt-scale geothermal potential, write Clean Air Task Force colleagues.

By Ann Garth and Dan West • May 20, 2026

PJM accelerates backstop auction amid uncertainty over data center cost allocation

The grid operator urged states to develop rules to shield other ratepayers from data center-driven costs, but analysts said it remains unclear how a reliability auction’s costs could be allocated only to hyperscalers.

By Ethan Howland • May 20, 2026

High winter heating bills aren’t going away unless state policymakers act

States can help consumers switch to high-efficiency electric appliances by lowering the up-front costs and minimizing ongoing operational costs, writes Kate Shonk, policy principal at Advanced Energy United.

By Kate Shonk • May 19, 2026

FirstEnergy utilities seek West Virginia rate increase

Mon Power and Potomac Edison proposed two rate hike pathways, including one that would increase its revenue in a two-part process that aims to ease its impact on customers.

By Ethan Howland • May 19, 2026

New cybersecurity industry coalition aims to lead US critical infrastructure protection

The new Alliance for Critical Infrastructure wants to change how the nation plans for a major cybersecurity crisis. Founding members include Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Consolidated Edison, Southern Co. and Xcel Energy.

By Eric Geller • May 19, 2026

DOE exceeded its authority with coal retirement delay, states tell appeals court

A decision in the Consumers Energy case could set a precedent for legal challenges to Department of Energy orders keeping fossil-fueled power plants from retiring.

By Ethan Howland • May 18, 2026

Combined NextEra-Dominion would have 130-GW large-load pipeline

Analysts said the deal, which could create the largest regulated electric utility in the world, marks a shift back toward an integrated utility model. The combined business would be “anchored by a more than 80% regulated business mix,” the companies said.

By Robert Walton • May 18, 2026

Pennsylvania releases ‘first-of-its-kind’ large-load model tariff

The guidelines call for utilities to charge large-load customers for upgrades that “would not have been needed ‘but for’ the interconnection” of that customer, “irrespective of whether other customers will benefit” from the infrastructure.

By Meris Lutz • Updated May 18, 2026

DOJ may intervene in NAACP lawsuit over xAI’s data center gas turbines

It is “the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance,” a deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice wrote in a court notice suggesting it might intervene.

By Diana DiGangi • May 15, 2026

Q1 saw net loss of 5,900 renewable energy manufacturing jobs: EDF report

The Environmental Defense Fund cited $1.4 billion in canceled renewable energy investments stemming from federal policy shifts around renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency and tailpipe emissions. 

By Jeff Kinney • May 14, 2026