Today's issue is about rising power bills hardening into a political problem. A new poll finds 76% of Americans want tougher utility oversight, New York is standing up a commission to explain rate hikes, and Pennsylvania is moving to make data centers pay for the upgrades they trigger. The buildout keeps accelerating underneath — a push to replace Russian uranium, Tesla solar manufacturing in Texas, Utah's gigawatt summit — even as data-center fights spread into midterm politics and local recall campaigns.
Top Stories
U.S. STORAGE HITS FIRST-QUARTER RECORD
The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. storage industry installed a record 9.7 gigawatt-hours in the first quarter as utilities chase grid stability amid rising power demand.
POLL FINDS BROAD DEMAND FOR TOUGHER UTILITY OVERSIGHT
Utility Dive
A new poll found 76% of Americans want stronger utility oversight as trust in state governments to protect consumers from rising power bills keeps falling.
STATES ARGUE FOR COMPETITION ON TRANSMISSION BIDS
E&E News
State officials are pressing FERC to reject a utility-backed effort to pause competitive bidding for major new transmission lines across the Midwest and Plains.
PENNSYLVANIA SHIELDS RATEPAYERS FROM AI LOAD
PennLive
Pennsylvania utility regulators approved model large-load tariff guidance built around a "but-for" test, aiming to make data centers pay for upgrades that would not be needed without them.
U.S. RACES TO REPLACE RUSSIAN URANIUM
Forbes
DOE and NRC are accelerating domestic uranium-enrichment efforts ahead of the full Russian import ban in 2028, putting nuclear fuel security back near the center of U.S. energy policy.
Power & Grid
AI POWER RACE COMES TO UTAH
Deseret News
At Utah's Operation Gigawatt Summit, energy and AI leaders argued that the United States must build power faster to keep pace with China and the AI data-center boom.
NEW YORK ADDS UTILITY-RATE SCRUTINY
Times Union
New York lawmakers are tying Climate Act changes to a new commission that would study why utility rates are rising and recommend ways to bring them down.
TESLA BUILDS BIGGER TEXAS SOLAR FOOTPRINT
The Cool Down
Tesla is reportedly planning a large solar manufacturing operation in Brookshire alongside its Megapack buildout, adding a domestic manufacturing angle to the power-supply story.
BLM OPENS DOOR TO FASTER ARCTIC LEASE PERMITS
Alaska Public Media
Alaska's oil lobby wants umbrella permitting for routine production sites in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and BLM has started scoping the environmental review for a new rule.
TRUMP'S NUCLEAR SPEED-UP HITS REGULATORS
The New Republic
The administration is remaking nuclear regulation as startups race to build reactors faster, raising new questions about oversight and safety.
Data Centers
DATA-CENTER BACKLASH HITS MIDTERM POLITICS
Rolling Stone
Opposition to AI data centers is cutting across party lines, with local fights over power bills, water, pollution, tax breaks and land use turning into a national political issue.
RUBY PIPELINE RECAST AS UTAH AI FUEL
The Salt Lake Tribune
The once-bankrupt Ruby Pipeline is now being pitched as a catalyst for Kevin O'Leary's proposed Utah hyperscale data center and energy campus.
ROY WANTS DATA-CENTER WATER ACCOUNTING
FOX 7 Austin
Rep. Chip Roy's federal POWER Act would require tracking of water use, grid dependence and connection-cost recovery for large data centers seeking expedited permitting.
FESTUS DATA-CENTER FIGHT TURNS TO RECALLS
The Cool Down
Residents in Festus, Missouri, filed recall petitions against the mayor and three council members after votes tied to a proposed hyperscale data center.
ILLINOIS DATA-CENTER FIGHT HITS RURAL COUNTIES
The Daily Yonder
Illinois' state POWER Act debate is spilling into rural communities as data-center growth collides with local land-use and power concerns.
Stat of the Day
76%
Share of Americans who want stronger utility oversight
Utility Dive says a new poll found public trust is eroding as power bills rise, even before the next full wave of utility spending hits rate cases.
Utility Dive report ↗