Utility Dive

Deep-pocketed tech companies and mission‑critical defense customers are emerging as the earliest adopters of advanced reactors, but utilities see potential if siting and cost recovery issues can be resolved.

National Grid New York is advancing integrated gas-electric planning through coordinated efforts and non-pipeline alternatives, writes the utility’s general counsel, Philip DeCicco.

John Hensley, senior vice president of markets and policy analysis at ACP, told Utility Dive that his organization has calculated at least 44 GW of wind projects are “stuck” in review at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Tatyana Bolton, the executive director of the OT Cyber Coalition, said that “severe budget cuts have forced CISA into a corner” where it can no longer provide the level of support it once did.

The state-owned utility plans to use artificial intelligence tools for more precise weather, load and financial planning, CFO Tami Wilson told journalists.

The Flex Connect program allows larger distribution-connected loads to energize in months instead of waiting “several years” for firm interconnection, the Northern California utility says.

About a dozen inter- and intraregional projects in the Eastern Interconnection could help meet load growth, lower retail electric rates, bolster reliability and support U.S. security, the study found.

The Legislature’s decision not to shield utilities from wildfire liability caused stock prices for Pacific Gas and Electric and Edison International to tumble by 20% and 23%. Bills that passed included proposals on balcony solar and data center rate structures.

Key risks remain, however, including “first-of-a-kind execution,” interconnection bottlenecks, capital intensity and competing technology paths, according to a research note from financial services company William Blair.

The Aug. 26 executive order, previous executive actions and the Treasury Department’s Foreign Entity of Concern guidance are likely to hit battery and inverter supply chains particularly hard, an industry analyst tells Utility Dive.

Developed intentionally, AI data centers can help create a more resilient and affordable electric system, write officials from Heron Power, NVIDIA, Invenergy and Emerald AI.

MISO defines “large loads” as those above 50 MW and “computational loads” as large loads that include at least 25 MW of demand from information technology equipment. The separate classifications will allow MISO to target certain requirements to data centers.

The state alleges the Trump administration “abuses its authority” by diminishing the value of offshore wind energy leases before it makes an “unrefusable offer” to developers.

Oklo asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order the PJM Interconnection to reinstate its 750-MW, mixed-technology project. PJM reportedly told Oklo that it never showed the project could ride through a sudden drop in grid voltage.

Manufacturers say the changes would create a more predictable process to set appliance standards but should not “apply retroactively to standards already finalized.” Efficiency advocates say potential energy savings will be lost.

Data center capacity continues to expand.

Secondary perils, such as severe convective storms, are becoming a primary driver of earnings volatility.

Since the complaint was filed, FirstEnergy, AEP and other Ohio utilities have planned more than $4.3 billion in local transmission without adequate oversight, the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel said.

The new demand response frameworks bring the state in line with other pay-for-performance virtual power plants while keeping NV Energy in the driver’s seat.

“We lose more than half of everything that we expected to be able to build with the combination of market forces and proactive policy,” said Amanda Levin, NRDC’s director of policy analysis.