DOE exceeded its authority with coal retirement delay, states tell appeals court

A decision in the Consumers Energy case could set a precedent for legal challenges to Department of Energy orders keeping fossil-fueled power plants from retiring.

By Ethan Howland • May 18, 2026

Combined NextEra-Dominion would have 130-GW large-load pipeline

Analysts said the deal, which could create the largest regulated electric utility in the world, marks a shift back toward an integrated utility model. The combined business would be “anchored by a more than 80% regulated business mix,” the companies said.

By Robert Walton • May 18, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive

Power demand is rising amid dramatic shifts in federal energy policy, but technology and markets continue to push the grid toward cleaner, more distributed resources. 

By Utility Dive staff

Pennsylvania releases ‘first-of-its-kind’ large-load model tariff

The guidelines call for utilities to charge large-load customers for upgrades that “would not have been needed ‘but for’ the interconnection” of that customer, “irrespective of whether other customers will benefit” from the infrastructure.

By Meris Lutz • Updated May 18, 2026

DOJ may intervene in NAACP lawsuit over xAI’s data center gas turbines

It is “the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance,” a deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice wrote in a court notice suggesting it might intervene.

By Diana DiGangi • May 15, 2026

Q1 saw net loss of 5,900 renewable energy manufacturing jobs: EDF report

The Environmental Defense Fund cited $1.4 billion in canceled renewable energy investments stemming from federal policy shifts around renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency and tailpipe emissions. 

By Jeff Kinney • May 14, 2026

Eversource misclassified $385M transmission project to avoid scrutiny: ratepayer complaint

The complaint at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission comes amid growing concern about electric affordability and calls for stricter vetting of local transmission projects.

By Ethan Howland • May 14, 2026

PJM may be ‘too big to function’: FERC Chairman Swett

Each of the 13 states in PJM, and the District of Columbia, have “fundamentally different regulatory structures, resource portfolios and politics,” FERC Chairman Laura Swett said. FERC will host a conference in July to identify potential reforms to PJM’s governance structure.

By Ethan Howland • May 13, 2026

2026 Q1 roundup: Utilities divided on data centers as affordability looms large

Physics, policy and politics are beginning to constrain some of the electric utility industry’s highest aspirations for data center-driven growth, Utility Dive learned in first quarter earnings calls.

By Meris Lutz • May 13, 2026

Making AI work for utilities means treating technology as a partner, not a replacement

In an era when reliability indices directly shape regulatory ratings, AI's predictive capability becomes a measurable operational asset, but only when people know how to use it, writes Sean Burri, a Dominion Energy infrastructure engineer.

By Sean Burri • May 12, 2026

Hyperscalers driving record clean energy deals: CEBA CEO

U.S. corporate clean energy procurement surpassed 27 gigawatts in 2025, with four companies accounting for about three-quarters of that capacity, Rich Powell, CEO of the newly rebranded Corporate Energy Buyers Association, said in an interview.

By Lamar Johnson • May 12, 2026

Constellation Energy enters 5 GW of nuclear, gas, battery capacity in PJM queue

Some potential data center customers are pausing decision-making in the PJM Interconnection to see how the grid operator’s colocation and backstop auction rules shake out, company officials said.

By Ethan Howland • May 12, 2026

Competitive power markets have delivered. Abandoning them would be a mistake.

Electricity markets are not perfect, but they remain one of the most powerful tools we have for delivering reliable, affordable power at scale, writes former FERC Commissioner Nora Mead Brownell.

By Nora Brownell • May 11, 2026

Owning the full stack: What U.S. storage has to figure out next

Storage is no longer about the breakthrough tech, but who can build and deliver a system at scale.

By Nate Walkingshaw, CEO and Co-Founder, Torus • May 11, 2026

Will DOE’s ‘nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses’ solve the US nuclear waste problem?

The Department of Energy wants to collaborate with states that agree to take in and possibly recycle used nuclear fuel, and some have responded positively. But practical and policy challenges remain.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 7, 2026

Exelon lowers utility spending to ease electric affordability issues

Exelon is shifting its spending away from utility operations while boosting planned transmission expenditures, company officials said during an earnings call on Wednesday.

By Ethan Howland • May 7, 2026

PJM floats options for capacity market overhaul

“The current situation is not tenable,” PJM President and CEO David Mills said. “The region has years, not decades, to make these choices deliberately.” The grid operator lays out three options, including shifting to an energy market model, in a white paper.

By Ethan Howland • May 7, 2026

PSEG CEO: Nuclear outlook for New Jersey improves on lifting of moratorium

Nuclear power plants won’t be built, however, without long-term federal financial support and hyperscaler offtake agreements, said Ralph LaRossa, Public Service Enterprise Group CEO.

By Ethan Howland • May 6, 2026

‘Supplemental’ municipal utility begins solar-and-storage installs in Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility will use locally sited solar, batteries and other resources to improve reliability and lower costs for subscribers, city officials say.

By Brian Martucci • May 5, 2026

America’s load growth moment is a chance to scale distributed energy

The fastest approach to expand the grid is via the distribution system, using front-of-meter storage to precisely target substations and feeders that need relief, writes Jigar Shah of Deploy Action.

By Jigar Shah • May 5, 2026

Pennsylvania House unanimously passes advanced transmission technology bill

State regulators could require utilities such as PPL Electric, PECO Energy and FirstEnergy to integrate ATTs into proposed projects. Similar laws have been signed in at least nine states with more bills pending.

By Ethan Howland • Updated May 7, 2026

The ADA deadline just moved. Utilities still need to act.

The DOJ extended its ADA Title II web accessibility compliance deadline to 2027 but the obligations for utility payment platforms have not changed.

By Nicole Hastings • May 4, 2026

New England transmission owners ask FERC for increased ROE

Eversource, Avangrid and other New England utilities seek an 11.39% return on equity weeks after FERC set it at 9.57%. Higher ROE is needed to attract capital given “current risk conditions,” such as the Iran war and supply chain constraints, they said.

By Ethan Howland • Updated May 1, 2026

TransAlta seeks $19.9M for Centralia plant’s first DOE ‘emergency’ order

The plant didn’t produce electricity, but TransAlta spent money keeping it “available” instead of retiring it as planned. It will cost another $23 million to repair it, TransAlta told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

By Ethan Howland • May 1, 2026

Offshore wind lease buyouts create troubling precedent, say former DOI officials

“You wouldn't want to create a situation where you are allowing companies, for instance, to buy up leases for anti-competitive purposes,” said former Bureau of Ocean Energy Management director Liz Klein.

By Diana DiGangi • Updated May 1, 2026

Congress should fix the nuclear investment tax credit

A bipartisan bill would restructure the credit to pass its full value on to ratepayers from day one, cutting the sticker price of new nuclear projects by 30% to 50%, writes Samuel Thernstrom at the Energy Innovation Reform Project.

By Samuel Thernstrom • April 30, 2026