Opinion
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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California approved a gas pipeline solution. Now comes the hard part.
SB 1221 offers a rare opportunity to align climate action with lower bills and prudent spending of ratepayer dollars, writes Jalal Awan at The Utility Reform Network.
Jalal Awan • April 2, 2026 -
Rebuttal: Coal plants are reliable and cost-competitive
Michelle Bloodworth, president and CEO of America's Power, which represents the U.S. coal fleet and its supply chain, pushes back on assertions that coal power should be replaced by renewables.
Michelle Bloodworth • April 1, 2026 -
AI data centers are stressing power infrastructure. Storage is the answer.
No one wants to admit that a power system designed for normal data center behavior is struggling under AI behavior, writes TerraFlow Energy Chief Marketing Officer Amanda Simonian.
Amanda Simonian • March 31, 2026 -
Before we build more gas pipelines, we need better data
Building energy infrastructure takes years, billions of dollars and massive political capital. Better data costs a fraction of that, write researchers at three universities.
Burçin Ünel, Anamika Dubey and Chiara Lo Prete • March 30, 2026 -
Fleet electrification is running into the grid. Planning and operations need to catch up.
Thoughtfully planned, flexible load offers one answer to the grid’s present challenges, write experts from Synop and the Electric Power Research Institute.
Shana Patadia and Britta Gross • March 27, 2026 -
Southeast, lower-cost PJM states offer model for affordable grid expansion
The vertically integrated utility model shows it is possible to build new generation and protect customers from steep rate increases, writes former FERC Commissioner Bernard McNamee.
Bernard L. McNamee • March 26, 2026 -
PJM’s crisis has a simple solution: Copy what works in regulated states
The competitive market was supposed to produce lower prices, but when faced with the first big demand shock in decades, it delivered chaos, writes Power for Tomorrow President Brad Viator.
Brad Viator • March 25, 2026 -
Utilities must ask AI vendors these questions to meet critical infrastructure protection standards
Utilities deploying AI tools may be creating a compliance gap that will become visible only when auditors start asking questions, writes Eric Swidey, founder of Thirty Seven Inc.
Eric Swidey • March 24, 2026 -
5-year waits and rising costs: How demand is redefining the gas turbine market
Lengthy lead times are likely to continue for now, and reliability in that environment depends on early, informed decisions, writes Electric Power Research Institute Senior Program Manager Bobby Noble.
Bobby Noble • March 23, 2026 -
Why data centers will need a ‘bring your own power’ strategy
If the AI boom is not handled correctly, we will put grid stability and public trust at odds with tech-led growth, writes Ameresco CEO George Sakellaris.
George Sakellaris • March 20, 2026 -
Winter storms underscore data center threats to grid reliability, affordability
Demand from the data center boom, combined with worsening extreme weather events, put our electric system at heightened risk, writes Union of Concerned Scientists Senior Manager Mike Jacobs.
Mike Jacobs • March 19, 2026 -
To strengthen power reliability in extreme weather, diversify grid resources
More expensive, less reliable power need not be our unavoidable fate, writes NextGen Energy CEO Kimberly Johnston.
Kimberly Johnston • March 18, 2026 -
As data centers go off-grid, utilities face new cost and planning risks
Industry disclosures suggest that by the end of the decade, a meaningful share of new data center capacity could be partially or fully self-supplied, write Brandon Owens and Morgan Bazilian.
Brandon Owens and Morgan Bazilian • March 17, 2026 -
What technology, policy and energy-finance leaders all agree on
Risk, return and credible deployment pathways are key factors that infrastructure investors evaluate. Solar and storage meet these requirements, writes Brendan Bell of Aligned Climate Capital.
Brendan Bell • March 16, 2026 -
America’s power shortage is a market failure
Early buildout of the U.S. rail system was fragmented, with local projects often failing to connect regions. Grid developers today should pay heed, writes Maria Martinez of the Clean Economy Project.
Maria Martinez • March 12, 2026 -
4 affordability solutions states and utilities can implement now
States can take steps to drive electricity cost savings more quickly as well as pursue long-term reform, write Allison Clements, a former member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and Lori Bird of the WRI Polsky Energy Center.
Allison Clements and Lori Bird • March 11, 2026 -
Build smarter: Energy demand growth can benefit everyone
It is imperative that our governing bodies act quickly to untie the hands of the energy industry and allow America to build, writes Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the American Gas Association.
Karen Harbert • March 9, 2026 -
Reliability risk isn’t just about capacity anymore
Winter Storm Fern showed that the integration of flexible resources paired with improved weatherization and better market structures can materially reduce risk during extreme weather, writes Tapas Peshin of PCI Energy Solutions.
Tapas Peshin • March 6, 2026 -
AI is outpacing America’s power grid. Nuclear must become a national priority.
Nuclear power can scale with the needs of AI, writes Amentum’s Mark Whitney. Companies and communities relying on renewables will risk outages, higher costs and missed opportunities.
Mark Whitney • March 5, 2026 -
Local control with reasonable county ordinances can support renewable energy deployment
The right regulations and permitting processes can help facilitate renewable resources facing county-level opposition, writes Claire Burch, a Clean Energy Leadership Institute 2025 fellow.
Claire Burch • March 4, 2026 -
The physics of reliability: Why gas peakers alone can’t save the modern grid
Most outages don’t start as a multihour energy shortage; they start as a frequency crisis. If you only have gas, you’re trying to stop a bullet with a shield that takes 10 minutes to lift, writes Arun Muthukrishnan from Arevon Energy.
Arun Muthukrishnan • March 3, 2026 -
From labor to components, America must bring grid modernization home
If the U.S. does not reshore every layer of the grid, it will never be able to power the AI economy it intends to lead, writes Peak Nano CEO Jim Welsh.
Jim Welsh • March 2, 2026 -
Efficiency first: A fast track to capacity in the era of hyperscalers
Prioritizing demand-side management before committing billions to new infrastructure mitigates risks for utilities and their customers, according to a pair of efficiency experts.
Paige Knutsen and Erin Kempster • Feb. 27, 2026 -
Governors are promising lower power bills. Here’s the only credible path to deliver.
If we treat every new megawatt like it must be served with new poles, wires, substations and peakers, we will lock in another decade of rate shock, write Jigar Shah and Arnab Pal from Deploy Action.
Jigar Shah and Arnab Pal • Feb. 26, 2026 -
The New England grid passed one winter test, but market reforms are still needed
Constructive collaboration across business and government should be celebrated while the region works to fine-tune its market to sustain existing investments and drive new ones, writes NEPGA President Dan Dolan.
Dan Dolan • Feb. 25, 2026