Today's issue is about utilities getting squeezed from every direction. PJM now has emergency authority to pull data centers into reliability operations during heat. Democrats are sharpening attacks on utility bills. Corporate clean-energy buyers are rushing to lock in deals before tax credits change. And the data-center fight is moving into governor races, merger politics, water planning, and state utility campaigns.
Top Stories
PJM GETS GREEN LIGHT TO CURTAIL DATA CENTERS
Utility Dive
DOE gave PJM emergency authority to curtail data centers and other large loads with backup generation during a hot-weather reliability squeeze, putting AI load directly inside the blackout-prevention playbook.
DEMOCRATS TURN RISING POWER BILLS AGAINST UTILITIES
E&E News
Congressional Democrats are increasingly treating electric utilities as the next political target in the affordability fight, linking rate hikes, infrastructure spending, and load growth to a broader energy-cost backlash.
CORPORATE CLEAN-POWER BUYING HEADS FOR RECORD YEAR
Axios
Corporate clean-energy procurement is on track for its biggest year yet, with AI demand and expiring tax credits pushing buyers to lock in new wind, solar, and storage deals.
BLOOMBERGNEF SEES SOLAR TOPPING COAL AND GAS BY 2032
Washington Examiner
BloombergNEF's latest outlook says current deployment trends put renewables on course to become the largest power sources within a decade, with solar overtaking coal and gas by 2032.
SOUTH DAKOTA LAUNCHES 5-GWH THERMAL STORAGE PROJECT
South Dakota News Watch
POET and Antora Energy are putting a 5-GWh thermal storage system beside a Big Stone City ethanol plant, using excess wind power to heat carbon blocks for industrial energy use.
Power & Grid
ENBRIDGE REVIVES NEW ENGLAND GAS-PIPELINE FIGHT
CommonWealth Beacon
A proposed Enbridge expansion is set to reopen New England's natural-gas debate and put Massachusetts leaders back under pressure over reliability, cost, and climate policy.
GRID UNITED PUSHES EL PASO LINK TO EASTERN GRID
El Paso Times
Houston-based Grid United is advancing the Pecos West transmission line, a project aimed at connecting El Paso Electric's system to the Eastern Interconnection.
FERMI 2 FIRE FORCES TEMPORARY NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN
Detroit Free Press
DTE temporarily shut down the Fermi 2 nuclear plant after a fire, while saying there was no risk to the public or plant employees.
KALAMAZOO LEADERS RALLY AGAINST PALISADES RESTART
MLive.com
Local officials and advocates rallied against the Palisades nuclear plant restart as the Michigan plant moves toward restart.
PG&E SPENDS BIG AGAINST TOM STEYER
KQED
PG&E is pouring money into California's governor race as Tom Steyer campaigns on cutting electric rates and reducing utility profits, turning utility regulation into a front-line political fight.
Data Centers
DATA CENTERS LOOM OVER GEORGIA GOVERNOR RACE
POLITICO
Georgia's governor race is turning data-center growth into a campaign issue, with fights over power demand, local impacts, and economic development moving from zoning rooms into statewide politics.
AI DATA-CENTER BUILDOUT HITS INFRASTRUCTURE AND POLITICAL HEADWINDS
Forbes
Power, infrastructure, permitting, and political pressure could slow the AI data-center buildout and complicate supply-demand planning for memory and storage.
NANCY MACE BACKS STATEWIDE DATA-CENTER MORATORIUM
POLITICO
Rep. Nancy Mace is calling for a statewide data-center moratorium, joining a growing bipartisan push to pause AI server-hub expansion over rising utility costs.
TEXAS WATER PLAN SKIPS THE DATA-CENTER BOOM
E&E News
Texas agencies are asking how much water data centers could need, but the state's draft 2027 water plan still leaves the sector largely out of view.
NORTH DAKOTA PSC CANDIDATE CALLS FOR DATA-CENTER MORATORIUM
North Dakota Monitor
A Republican candidate for North Dakota Public Service Commission is calling for a pause on data-center development, another sign that big-load siting fights are spreading into utility politics.
Stat of the Day
$12 million
PG&E spending against Tom Steyer in California's governor race
The utility is opposing Steyer as he campaigns on cutting electricity rates, lowering utility profits, and changing how California regulates investor-owned power companies.
KQED report ↗