Are utility demand response program costs outstripping their benefits in California?

California Public Utilities Commission policy has been pushing customers to choose utility-run supply-side DR programs over third-party options that face pressure to keep costs low.

By Collin Smith • Feb. 24, 2025

AEP expects electric sales to jump 8.6% annually over 3 years

American Electric Power is in the early permitting phase for small modular reactors in Indiana and Virginia as data centers and industrial facilities drive demand for power.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 18, 2025

Explore the Trendline➔

Virtual Power Plants

Virtual power plants and their ability to balance energy supply and demand are increasingly sought by utilities as electricity demand increases, but their lack of standardization remains a barrier.

By Utility Dive staff

2024 ‘a pivotal year’ for virtual power plant policy: report

Following 105 policy actions nationwide last year, 2025 could see continued momentum as load begins to grow, the NC Clean Energy Technology Center and the Smart Electric Power Alliance say.

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 12, 2025

Transformer supply bottleneck threatens power system stability as load grows

Electric transformers are critical to managing power system reliability. Solutions to the bottleneck are emerging, but long wait times remain.

By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 12, 2025

EPA funding freeze endangers $7B Solar For All program

“We don't know how much money got out the door, we don't know how much money the administration can seek to claw back,” said Vote Solar’s executive director, Sachu Constantine.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 6, 2025

Electricity is the next energy crisis

Electricity demand and distribution technologies won't solve the entire problem, but they can provide immediate relief.

By Juan Macias • Feb. 6, 2025

2025 US power sector outlook

The second Trump administration has ramped up energy transition uncertainty. Meanwhile, electricity demand from data centers and electrification continues to grow, and the resource mix is changing.

By Utility Dive staff • Jan. 31, 2025

‘Interconnection processes must evolve’ to handle DER influx: DOE

The DER interconnection roadmap issued in the last days of the Biden administration envisions interconnection wait times under one day for <50-kW systems and 25% shorter power outage durations by 2030.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 24, 2025

Trump freezes IRA funding

The White House issued a memo to clarify the funding pause, specifying that it pertains only to aspects of the law mentioned in Section 2 of the executive order.

By Kate Magill • Updated Jan. 23, 2025

Sonnen, SOLRITE Energy launch grid-optimizing virtual power plant in Texas

The program aims to relieve congestion and improve renewable power economics on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid, sonnen USA CEO Blake Richetta said.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 17, 2025

NREL seeks distributed wind turbine technology proposals from manufacturers

The request for proposals offers award amounts up to $800,000 for submissions from domestic manufacturers of small and medium-sized wind turbines.

By Diana DiGangi • Jan. 16, 2025

Bipartisan, ‘nonpolitical’ messaging key to achieving DOE’s 2030 VPP goal, analysts say

Successful VPPs in Utah and other GOP-controlled areas highlight effective framing around cost reduction, consumer choice, self-reliance and resilience, experts told Utility Dive.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 15, 2025

9 US electric power sector issues to watch in 2025

From rising electricity prices and demand to emerging opportunities and challenges around nuclear energy, virtual power plants, renewables and more, we’ve highlighted nine of the most important issues for the year ahead.

By Robert Walton, Ethan Howland, Diana DiGangi, Larry Pearl, Brian Martucci • Jan. 8, 2025

Microgrids boost grid reliability, lower costs: Colorado road map

Rising transmission costs and extreme weather impacts prompted a fresh look at the benefits of self-contained grids for rural Colorado communities.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 7, 2025

Convergent lands $150M in financing for distributed solar, storage projects

The funding will speed development of more industrial-scale distributed energy projects, CEO Johannes Rittershausen said.

By Brian Martucci • Dec. 12, 2024

Texas task force aims to ‘tear down barriers’ to virtual power plant pilot as participation lags

The aggregated DER pilot, which includes Tesla and Bandera Electric as participants, aims to harness 80 MW of flexible resources on the Texas grid, but it has not reached that goal due to various limitations.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 11, 2024

BlackRock, Temasek venture leads $35M funding round for ConnectDER

The latest funding round, led by Decarbonization Partners, will help accelerate growth for the home solar power and EV adapter company.

By Lamar Johnson • Dec. 5, 2024

When TOU rates aren’t enough: BGE, other utilities expand active managed charging for rising EV load

With over 3 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads, managed charging pilots need to be scaled before infrastructure upgrade costs start rising, analysts and utility executives agree.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 4, 2024

EPRI, Kraken advance DER interoperability standards to boost virtual power plant deployment

“Without interoperability standards, VPPs cannot reach scalability, affordability, and reliability as soon or as efficiently as they will be needed,” said Arshad Mansoor, CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 27, 2024

Unleashing the power of dynamic distribution pricing (Part 2)

We can't wait to implement dynamic distribution pricing while until we scale monitoring and analytics devices — here's how utilities can start implementing pilots now.

By Amaani Hamid and Emma Rodvien • Nov. 25, 2024

A model tariff can speed distributed power plant deployment and lower grid modernization costs

Distributed power plants can improve system resilience now, complementing longer-term grid upgrades that will take years or decades to build.  

By America Garcia and Shannon Anderson • Nov. 22, 2024

Digital twins reimagined at scale for utilities

Digital twins of assets will play an increasing role in helping improve operational efficiency.

By Phil Schwarz • Nov. 18, 2024

DOE earmarks nearly $150M for 67 clean tech projects at federal facilities

The Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies program grants will save a combined $41.7 million in energy and water costs annually, the Energy Department said.

By Brian Martucci • Nov. 11, 2024

Trump win is ‘setback’ for climate protection, but clean energy advocates say progress will continue

Trump’s victory means a Republican will be selected to lead FERC, which will likely work to rein in transmission incentives, said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 6, 2024

Is the grid prepared to power the AI revolution?

As the AI boom drives unprecedented growth for data centers, America's power grid faces a significant challenge: meeting the rising power demand needs of an AI-driven future. Nate Walkingshaw, CEO and Co-Founder of Torus, delves into this rapidly evolving energy landscape, where data centers alone could consume 9% of U.S. power by 2030. With traditional infrastructure lagging the expected electricity demand, Walkingshaw advocates for a flexible, distributed energy model, envisioning commercial properties as nodes for decentralized energy generation and storage systems.

By Nate Walkingshaw, CEO & Co-Founder of Torus • Nov. 4, 2024