Utility Dive

Don’t miss our preview of what’s ahead for the utility industry in 2026. From renewable energy to grid modernization, discover the trends shaping the future of energy. Read the full report: utilitydive.com/news/utility…

Chinese-linked solar developer loses appeal over Texas grid interconnection The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit said Texas has a “free lane” to enforce restrictions on foreign-owned companies’ access to the state’s electric grid. utilitydive.com/news/chinese…

BAAJA gives federal regulators ‘bigger hammer’ to break transmission blocks “I think the cost-sharing elements are by far probably the most important part of this bill,” Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., told Utility Dive. utilitydive.com/news/baaja-p…

Data center purchases of electrical equipment up 80% since 2025: Hubbell The electrical equipment supplier says a temporary shortage of meter components should be fully resolved by the end of the year. utilitydive.com/news/data-ce…

FirstEnergy data center pipeline increases 5% to 26 GW in Q3 Two FirstEnergy utilities reserved combined-cycle turbines for a 1.2-GW data center-focused project in West Virginia and issued a solicitation for an additional 3 GW, company officials said. utilitydive.com/news/firsten…

AEP increases investment plan 30% to $100B on gen, transmission spending American Electric Power’s contracted large loads jumped 22%, to 84 GW, mainly on a 10.4-GW data center in Ohio being developed by SB Energy, company officials said Wednesday. utilitydive.com/news/aep-tra…

GE Vernova in $9B deal to buy high-voltage manufacturer as gas turbine orders slow The acquisition of Trench Group will help GE Vernova capitalize on rising electricity demand, company executives said. utilitydive.com/news/ge-vern…

California utilities, aggregators and customers to benefit from new DER laws: advocates One aggregator called device-level telemetry the “keystone” to extract value from multiple distributed energy resources behind the same meter. utilitydive.com/news/califor…

FERC approves tougher MISO penalties for nonperforming demand-side resources Two FERC members urged parties to monitor the rules in case they drive well-performing demand response and behind-the-meter resources out of the grid operator’s market. utilitydive.com/news/ferc-mi…

DOE announces $10.1B in loans to Constellation, Alliant, for 3.7 GW Both loan packages could be used to finance uprates at existing generation facilities, which Energy Secretary Chris Wright called “commonsense” energy policy. utilitydive.com/news/doe-loa…

Reliability standards for AI data centers, crypto miners move closer to adoption NERC’s Board of Trustees on Monday voted to adopt reliability standards for AI data centers and other computational loads. The proposed rules now go to FERC for approval. utilitydive.com/news/reliabi…

Capacity, clarity, cash and compliance: the 4 Cs of electric co-op funding success Compliance is where cooperative utilities tend to struggle most, and the latest federal funding programs have introduced tougher terms, writes Fedsprout CEO Aalap Shah. utilitydive.com/news/for-ele…

BNEF ups US energy storage deployment forecast by 30% Hyperscalers’ interest in on-site and nearby energy storage has converted into firm orders this year, the global energy consultancy said last week in its latest industry outlook. utilitydive.com/news/bnef-up…

PJM urges FERC to dismiss Mon Power ‘fishing expedition’ seeking to recoup $145M FirstEnergy’s Monongahela Power contends that the PJM Interconnection’s advanced scheduling of gas-fired power plants may have violated the grid operator’s rules. utilitydive.com/news/pjm-fer…

CenterPoint expands 10-year capital plan by $4B to handle load growth The Houston-based utility’s investment plan through 2035 stands at almost $71 billion, and the company is accelerating some investments to support growing customer demand. utilitydive.com/news/centerp…

Wind turbine orders hit 2.8 GW in Q2 ahead of tax credit deadline: WoodMac Overall, “the U.S. wind industry remains on course to add 39 GW of onshore new-build capacity by 2030,” the report said. utilitydive.com/news/wind-tu…

CISA promises proactive critical infrastructure defense in new strategic plan Supply-chain security receives special attention in the plan, with CISA promising to “develop data-driven guidance and best practices.” AI is mentioned only briefly. utilitydive.com/news/cisa-st…

Clean energy groups, states oppose MISO’s large load-generation study plan The grid operator’s proposed fast-track study process for large loads with generation lacks ratepayer protections, critics said. utilitydive.com/news/miso-la…

PG&E needs wildfire policy reform to manage tail risk, CEO says CEO Patti Poppe said the company’s credit rating “is a major issue that must be solved ... [legislative] inaction will continue to get increasingly expensive for our customers.” utilitydive.com/news/pge-nee…

Trump eschews tariffs for trade talks on wind turbine imports Following a Section 232 probe, the president tasked cabinet officials to engage in negotiations and report on their progress within 180 days. utilitydive.com/news/trump-e…

NextEra Energy secures $5.7B to support federal energy ‘hub’ projects The company remains on track to close a merger with Dominion Energy in the second half of 2027, despite political opposition in Virginia, NextEra officials said Wednesday. utilitydive.com/news/nextera…