Today's issue is about the grid moving from growth forecasts to governance fights. AI load is no longer just a demand curve. It is showing up in PJM capacity prices, FERC proceedings, utility merger narratives, state ratepayer laws, transmission hearings, and the capital markets. Real infrastructure is still getting built — a new hydropower line into New York City, Fervo's public-market bet on 24/7 clean power. The rulebook is being rewritten while demand is already arriving.
Top Stories
ENERGY BECOMES THE BOTTLENECK FOR WAR AND AI
Axios
Oil for the Iran war and electricity for data centers are now the same global constraint: energy supply is setting the pace for geopolitics and the AI buildout.
FERC CHAIR QUESTIONS WHETHER PJM IS TOO BIG TO FUNCTION
Utility Dive
FERC Chair Laura Swett said PJM may be too large and politically fragmented to govern effectively as capacity prices, state policy fights, and data-center load all collide.
CONGRESS TAKES UP THE TRANSMISSION BOTTLENECK
E&E News
House Energy and Commerce lawmakers debated how to speed grid upgrades for rising AI-driven demand, exposing the same federal-versus-state fight sitting underneath permitting reform.
NEW YORK CITY GETS A 1,250 MW HYDROPOWER LINE EARLY
S&P Global
The Champlain Hudson Power Express reached commercial operation ahead of schedule, making Canadian hydropower available to supply roughly 20% of New York City demand at full capacity.
FERVO IPO TURNS GEOTHERMAL INTO A $10B AI-POWER BET
Fortune
Fervo raised $1.89 billion in an upsized IPO, opened 35% higher, and crossed a $10 billion market cap as investors look for firm, clean power that can serve hyperscalers.
Power & Grid
NUCLEAR CONCRETE BILL TARGETS MATERIAL COSTS
E&E News
The Build Nuclear with Local Materials Act would allow standard concrete use in nuclear reactors, part of a broader push to cut construction friction in new nuclear development.
MCCORMICK PUSHES A FASTER ENERGY PERMITTING BILL
Axios Pittsburgh
Sen. Dave McCormick is pitching the Unlock American Energy and Jobs Act as a way to release roughly $1 trillion in infrastructure projects tied up in federal permitting.
TEXAS RANCHERS PUSH BACK ON 765-KV TRANSMISSION
The Dallas Morning News
Rural landowners packed a state hearing for hours over Oncor's proposed 765-kV line, a reminder that even urgently needed grid buildout still runs through local land, maps, and procedure.
HOUSE PANEL MOVES TO REVIVE STATE DEPT. ENERGY BUREAU
E&E News
The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced bipartisan legislation to restore a State Department energy diplomacy bureau, linking energy security with mineral and foreign-policy strategy.
INTERIOR APPEALS SOLAR AND WIND PERMITTING RULING
Washington Examiner
The Trump administration says it will appeal a court order blocking Interior Department policies that slowed federal permitting for wind and solar projects on public lands.
Data Centers
FERC EYES A FEDERAL RULEBOOK FOR AI GRID CONNECTIONS
Engineering News-Record
Federal regulators are advancing large-load interconnection rules, putting data-center queue position, transmission upgrades, and cost allocation into one national proceeding.
OKLAHOMA SIGNS DATA-CENTER RATEPAYER PROTECTIONS
Oklahoma Voice
Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the Data Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act, aiming to keep average utility bills from rising because of data-center electricity demand.
MONTANA MERGER RECORDS SHOW DATA-CENTER UPSIDE
Daily Montanan
NorthWestern Energy has said data centers are not central to its Black Hills merger case, but records show the load-growth story was part of the pitch to investors.
DATA CENTERS KEEP CONSTRUCTION MOMENTUM ALIVE
Construction Dive
Nonresidential construction spending slipped again, but data-center work remains one of the few areas still providing clear month-to-month momentum.
PJM SAYS IT IS READY FOR SUMMER, WITH A DATA-CENTER CAVEAT
Erie Times-News
PJM says it can meet summer demand, but the grid operator is also warning that rapid data-center growth is reshaping reliability and planning.
Stat of the Day
20%
Share of New York City's electricity demand the new Champlain Hudson Power Express can supply at full capacity
S&P Global reports the 1,250 MW line reached commercial operation ahead of schedule, bringing Canadian hydropower directly into the country's largest urban load center.
S&P Global report ↗