PPL Electric Reaches $275M Rate Case Settlement, Including Data Center Tariff
PPL Electric Utilities announced a $275 million settlement with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission that would raise average residential bills by 4.9% to roughly $184 per month. The deal introduces a new large‑load tariff for data centers and other customers consuming 50 MW or more (or 75 MW aggregate) and includes a ten‑year minimum contract term. Large‑load customers will contribute $11 million annually to PPL’s low‑income program, while the utility’s base distribution revenue is cut 23% from its original request. If approved, the rate hike takes effect July 1, marking the first distribution increase since 2016.
JST’s OD3Mag™ Outdoor Breaker Offers Robust Upgrade at Utility Substation in Pacific Northwest
Salem Electric selected JST Power Equipment’s OD3Mag outdoor substation breaker to replace an aging unit at its Oregon facility, prioritizing a rugged enclosure that can endure the Pacific Northwest’s wet climate. The breaker’s magnetic actuation reduces maintenance effort, while its...
AI Is Making Weather Forecasts Better
Artificial intelligence is reshaping meteorology, with AI‑driven models now surpassing the best physics‑based systems by up to 20% in accuracy. These models learn directly from decades of global observations, delivering longer‑range hurricane track predictions and operating on a fraction of...
5 Things You Need to Know About Advanced Conductors
Advanced conductors, especially Aluminum‑Encapsulated Carbon Core (AECC), are now mainstream, offering higher ampacity without the thermal sag of traditional ACSS. Reconductoring with AECC lets utilities boost transmission capacity quickly, avoiding new right‑of‑way permits and costly structural upgrades. Projects report 30‑40%...
IOUs Work to Interconnect 39 GW of Data Center, Manufacturing Load: EEI
Investor‑owned utilities are coordinating to interconnect roughly 39 GW of data‑center and manufacturing loads, representing more than 80 large‑load projects across the United States. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) highlighted that 20 states have already approved at least one large‑load tariff,...
‘Clear Warning Signs’ as PJM Wholesale Power Costs Jump 54% in One Year
PJM Interconnection’s wholesale power costs surged 54% in 2025, reaching $67 billion. Capacity expenses exploded 262%, now 16% of total costs, exposing a 6,500 MW shortfall for the 2027/2028 auction. The spike is driven by rapid data‑center load growth, prompting the independent...
America’s Power Shortage Is a Market Failure
America’s electricity grid faces looming capacity shortfalls as winter storms, record demand and aging plants converge. Market designs only signal investment after supply gaps appear, leaving developers with limited time and revenue certainty. The article argues that, like 19th‑century railroad...
New York Needs More Time to Meet Climate Goals, Gov. Hochul Says
New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned that the state’s 2030 climate targets – 70% renewable electricity and a 40% emissions cut – are financially untenable without a policy reset. She highlighted a $4,100 annual cost increase for vulnerable two‑car, heating‑oil...
EPB of Chattanooga Deploys Battery-Based Microgrids for Savings, Resilience
EPB of Chattanooga has commissioned five battery‑based microgrids delivering 29 MW of power and 58 MWh of storage across two sites, bringing its front‑of‑meter storage to 45 MW/95 MWh. The utility plans to add another 45 MW of storage within 12 months and reach 100‑150 MW...
4 Affordability Solutions States and Utilities Can Implement Now
The article outlines four near‑term affordability solutions states and utilities can deploy to curb rising electricity bills: AI‑enabled load planning, advanced transmission technologies, demand‑side flexibility, and grid‑friendly large‑load tariffs. It cites pilots such as PJM’s AI partnership, PPL’s dynamic line...
FERC Approves ComEd Data Center Transmission Agreements
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved five transmission security agreements (TSAs) between Commonwealth Edison and data‑center developers, including Equinix and QTS Investment Properties Chicago. The contracts embed provisions—ramp‑up schedules, credit obligations, revenue contributions, and termination fees—to shield existing ComEd...
NERC Overstates Reliability Risks in Long-Term Assessment: Grid Strategies
Grid Strategies contends that NERC’s 2025 Long‑Term Reliability Assessment exaggerates U.S. grid risks by inflating demand forecasts, especially the 90 GW data‑center load projected for 2030. The consulting firm argues the LTRA underestimates supply, ignoring projects in interconnection queues and non‑firm...
Arizona Corporation Commission Ends State’s Renewable Energy Standard
The Arizona Corporation Commission voted unanimously on March 4 to repeal the state’s renewable energy standard and associated tariff rules, arguing that the mandates no longer justify the costs to ratepayers. Since 2006, utilities have collected more than $2.3 billion in REST...
MISO, SPP Eye 500-kV Cross-Border Projects to Bolster Reliability, Save Money
Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) are evaluating two 500‑kV transmission options—Core ($1.3 billion) and Core+ ($3.6 billion)—to strengthen reliability along their shared border in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The Core set would add 2.6 GW of import...
Build Smarter: Energy Demand Growth Can Benefit Everyone
American Gas Association CEO Karen Harbert argues that rising U.S. energy demand—driven by reshoring and AI—offers a chance to keep costs low if natural‑gas infrastructure expands quickly. She notes that demand has risen nearly 50 % since 2006 while shale has...
The Impact of Renewable Energy on the Electric Power Grid
Renewable energy now accounts for roughly 20% of U.S. electricity, with wind as the dominant source followed by hydropower. Intermittent generation can create periods of oversupply, prompting curtailments and even negative market prices. To balance the grid, utility‑scale storage—currently over...
When a Buried Marker Starts Talking Back: Why RFID Matters for Marking + Mapping Underground Utilities
Underground utility crews often encounter inaccurate maps and missing locate information, leading to costly delays. RFID‑enabled buried markers, such as Tempo’s OmniMarker‑ID and Spike Marker‑ID, embed detailed asset data directly at the site, allowing read/write access via locators like the...
Sunrun Installation Volumes Fall in Q4 2025 as VPP Capacity Grows
Sunrun reported a year‑over‑year decline in Q4 2025 subscriber additions and installation volumes, with subscriber value metrics falling sharply. Gross subscriber value dropped 2% to $50.2 million and net subscriber value fell 30% to $9.1 million, while storage attachment rose to 71%....
Data Center Growth Has Helped PG&E Cut Rates 11% Since 2024, CEO Says
PG&E announced that accelerated large‑load growth, led by data centers, EV adoption and manufacturing, has enabled an 11% reduction in residential electric rates since 2024. The utility’s large‑load pipeline fell to 7.3 GW, with 3.6 GW now in final engineering, supporting a...
At $103B, Duke Claims Largest Spending Plan of Any Regulated US Utility
Duke Energy raised its five‑year capital plan by $16 billion, bringing total spending to $103 billion—the largest budget among regulated U.S. utilities. The expansion supports 14 GW of new generation, 4.5 GW of battery storage, and a surge in data‑center connections projected to accelerate...
