#utilities

A Concentric Energy Advisors report says data-center-scale demand can support grid upgrades, but warns that failing to assign costs properly could shift $120 billion to $169 billion onto other customers.

A Utility Dive opinion argues that power companies should treat the AI data center surge as a systemwide grid modernization challenge, not a queue of isolated projects.

PJM plans to hold a backstop reliability auction in September rather than March, accelerating efforts to secure new capacity for large loads while warning states that data center-related costs still lack a clear path for

Con Edison is preparing a multiyear buildout of substations and related infrastructure across New York City and nearby suburbs, arguing that building and transport electrification are becoming the utility’s main growth c

Evergy says data-center demand is driving a faster retail sales outlook through 2030, but the response includes more gas-fired generation and a dramatic reduction in long-term wind and solar additions.

Xcel Energy says its Minnesota agreement for a large Google data center will serve as a template for future large-load tariffs, as utilities try to capture hyperscale growth without shifting costs onto existing customers

Utilities and state agencies across the U.S. West are deploying AI-enabled smoke detection cameras as heat, drought, and wildfire risk rise. Supporters say early alerts can keep small ignitions from turning into large

Southern Company says data centers drove a 42% jump in power use and helped push first-quarter retail sales growth to the highest recent first-quarter increase the utility has seen.

FirstEnergy says PJM’s proposed reliability backstop auction could distort who pays for new generation tied to booming data center demand, opening a new front in the struggle over how to finance grid expansion.

NextEra says it contracted a record 4 gigawatts of new generation projects in the first quarter, underscoring how rapidly utility-scale supply is being reshaped by growing electricity demand.

Sponsored analysis from Utility Dive argues that rapid demand growth, especially from data centers and large interconnection requests, is making static and siloed planning models inadequate for the grid buildout ahead.

New federal data show average U.S. electricity revenues per kilowatt-hour rose 9% in February from a year earlier, with especially sharp increases in Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative and Base Power are expanding a distributed battery partnership that aims to provide 50 MW of capacity across South Texas, helping the utility manage load peaks and wholesale price.

Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities are assessing a 266-MW pumped storage project in southeast Kentucky as AI, manufacturing and industrial load growth renew interest in long-duration storage.

A new complaint at FERC is challenging competitive bidding for regional transmission projects in MISO and SPP, setting up a consequential fight over cost, timing, and who gets to build the next wave of high-voltage lines

Eversource and Avangrid are asking federal regulators to stay a decision that would require roughly $1.5 billion in refunds tied to New England transmission charges dating back to 2011.

A new analysis from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and The Brattle Group says recent utility filings and approvals point to additional near-term retail electricity price increases.

A growing share of new data center capacity is being built to operate partially or fully off the utility grid, creating stranded cost risks and major planning headaches for electric utilities nationwide.

Edison Electric Institute reports investor-owned utilities are working to interconnect 39 gigawatts of new data center and manufacturing load — a grid challenge with no modern precedent.

Major utilities are pouring billions into infrastructure for AI-driven data center demand, but analysts warn that a market correction could leave them stranded with unused capacity and collapsed tariff agreements.