Transmission & Distribution


  • Electric transmission lines crossing a shrubby area.
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    The image by Eduardo Sanchez is licensed under CC BY 1.0
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    Opinion

    Harnessing HVDC transmission as a transformative force in modern grid design

    As grid modernization accelerates, high-voltage direct current transmission will be a cornerstone in the transition to a cleaner, smarter and more resilient power system.

    By Anees Jeddy • May 21, 2025
  • An Amazon cloud data center under construction in Aldie, Virginia on Feb. 10, 2024.
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    Gerville via Getty Images
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    A fraction of proposed data centers will get built. Utilities are wising up.

    One expert estimated that speculative interconnection requests were five to 10 times more than the number of actual data centers, but the scale of the problem remains elusive.

    By Brian Martucci • May 15, 2025
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    Mario Tama / Staff via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Grid Resiliency

    Utilities and grid operators are facing increasing threats from climate change as well as cyber and physical attacks, and are deploying a variety of responses to meet the rising challenges.

    By Utility Dive staff
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    ehabaref via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Thousands of energy experts are leaving federal government. Here’s where they should go.

    State PUCs desperately need skilled energy professionals to advance economic development, energy affordability and national security goals.

    By Charles Hua, Abe Silverman and Ted Thomas • May 14, 2025
  • Nordik Data Centers, Accelcius, chips cooling
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    Loradao via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The AI energy emergency that wasn’t

    The  Army Corps of Engineers’  use of an emergency regulation to fast-track permitting for almost 700 projects may backfire because of legal delays and reversals.

    By Dan Farber • May 13, 2025
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    aydinmutlu via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Why surging demand and grid transformation will define the utility sector in 2025

    The utilities that succeed will be the ones that can manage today’s operational stress while preparing for tomorrow’s energy ecosystem.

    By Kyle Jones • May 9, 2025
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    Issiah Levett via Getty Images
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    Alternative technologies key to FERC transmission orders’ success: ACORE

    FERC Orders 1920 and 1920-A offer an opportunity for state entities and transmission providers to collaborate on faster, more efficient and more cost-effective transmission solutions, the report said.

    By Brian Martucci • May 8, 2025
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    Bo Shen via Getty Images
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    Southeastern utilities have fallen behind in transmission planning: reports

    The region's utilities have missed out on billions in potential savings, including during Winter Storm Elliott, according to two reports.

    By Emma Penrod • May 8, 2025
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    Permission granted by ISO New England
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    ISO New England prepares for 11% rise in annual electricity consumption

    The increase over the next decade will primarily come from heating electrification and growing adoption of electric vehicles, the grid operator said.

    By May 7, 2025
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    imagedepotpro via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Navigating 4 key trends and challenges shaping the power industry

    2025 will be pivotal in how utilities handle workforce shortages, the energy transition and a range of grid reliability and resilience issues.

    By Matt Carrara • May 7, 2025
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    BRANDONJ74 via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The time has come for competitive transmission in Texas

    Opening the transmission sector to competition means leveraging the power of the market to deliver the most reliable grid at the lowest reasonable cost.

    By Matt Welch • May 6, 2025
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    Quantic69 via Getty Images
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    Exelon data center pipeline doubles to 36 GW since year-end

    However, Exelon faces economic uncertainty “as we all navigate updated tariff policies, federal budget reprioritization and increased energy supply costs,” CEO Calvin Butler said.

    By May 2, 2025
  • Rows of electric power lines run through a wooded area.
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    Alexander Farnsworth via Getty Images
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    Northeast states to seek transmission proposals between PJM, ISO-NE, New York

    “There are likely low-hanging fruit, no-regrets interregional transmission projects that current transmission planning approaches are failing to identify,” Katie Dykes, a Connecticut official, said.

    By April 30, 2025
  • Power lines in the Florida Everglades.
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    TexPhoto via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Transmission at a crossroads: Policy must reflect today’s infrastructure needs

    State and federal “rights-of-first-refusal” would re-establish certainty by relying on local transmission owners to promptly move ahead with needed power line projects.

    By Devin McMackin • April 29, 2025
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    Peach_iStock via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    EPRI’s Open Power AI Consortium plans to fuel grid modernization with data sharing

    Utilities, tech companies and regulators are facing a conundrum: Utilities want to use AI, but AI needs access to unavailable utility data to be effective.

    By Updated April 29, 2025
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    Courtesy of Google
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    Smaller, public utilities see growth potential in data centers, but there are risks: APPA

    Utility leaders can take steps to attract potentially lucrative large loads while mitigating risks for existing customers, the American Public Power Association says.

    By Brian Martucci • April 24, 2025
  • An aerial photo of a coal-fired power station in the Midwest.
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    Kent Raney via Getty Images
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    Clean energy groups urge FERC to reject MISO interconnection plan for replacing retiring power plants

    However, Alliant Energy, other utilities and state utility regulators support the proposal to create a new pathway for connecting replacement generation to the grid.

    By April 21, 2025
  • Aerial View of Coal-Fired Power Station in Winter.
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    AerialPerspective Works via Getty Images
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    Cold-weather grid performance improves, plus 4 other FERC open meeting takeaways

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie defended the PJM Interconnection amid an uproar over its capacity market.

    By April 18, 2025
  • Steam rises from a power plant with construction equipment in the foreground.
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    Gerville via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The US is facing unprecedented load growth. Here’s how we ensure resource adequacy.

    Adding sufficient resources fast enough to reliably meet the growth will require an array of demand- and supply-side resources as well as stronger transmission interconnection planning.

    By Samuel Newell • April 17, 2025
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Trump administration ordered to resume IRA funding

    The decision, which stated federal agencies lacked authority to pause funding, follows the president’s executive order to freeze the money on his first day in office. 

    By Kate Magill • April 17, 2025
  • Electric power lines cross a snow-covered field.
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    JPDworld via Getty Images
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    NERC proposes cold weather reliability standard

    Quickly addressing generator freezing issues “will help ensure that the grid is better equipped to withstand and recover from extreme cold weather,” the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said.

    By April 14, 2025
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    Gerville via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The AI infrastructure race hits a political reality check

    The AI-driven data center boom has created demand for land, electricity and water, a dynamic that has spawned growing opposition from communities, utility grid operators and regulators.

    By Joe Brettell and Jeff Berkowitz • April 10, 2025
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    Permission granted by Esme Howland
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    Trump directs FERC, other agencies to add 5-year sunsets to energy-related regulations

    The executive order is “impossible to implement [and] blatantly illegal,” according to Harvard Law School’s Ari Peskoe.

    By April 10, 2025
  • Electric power lines run next to a highway.
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    The image by versageek is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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    FERC urged to reject proposed ROE, incentives for $3B Valley Link transmission project

    Transource Energy, Dominion Energy and FirstEnergy contend the incentives are needed to reduce the project’s risks.

    By April 7, 2025
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    Courtesy of GE Vernova
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    US electricity demand will grow 50% by 2050, electrical manufacturer study finds

    Data centers and transportation electrification will drive U.S. electricity demand about 2% higher each year for the next quarter century, according to a new analysis completed for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

    By April 7, 2025
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    3alexd via Getty Images
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    Sponsored by ChargeScape

    ChargeScape and the future of energy management

    ChargeScape is an automotive joint venture providing EV-grid integration software to power utilities.

    April 7, 2025