Good morning. West Texas is staring at a transmission squeeze, the oil reserve has slipped below 300 million barrels, and a single OpenAI campus has contracted for half again as much power as Georgia's two new Vogtle reactors produce.
Top Stories
WEST TEXAS COULD FACE ROLLING BLACKOUTS WITHIN FIVE YEARS
E&E News
Friday's broader ERCOT modeling puts transmission overloads within five years; an earlier Permian study warned shortages could arrive as soon as next summer. Without new lines, utilities would have to cut customers or risk grid damage.
U.S. OIL RESERVE FALLS BELOW 300 MILLION BARRELS
NPR
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at its lowest level in more than 40 years, down from 415 million barrels in January, with another roughly 55 million barrels still allocated or expected to flow as the Iran war disrupts global supply.
OPENAI'S 3.2-GW GEORGIA POWER DEAL FACES SCRUTINY
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Power extended the review deadline after PSC staff signaled objections to the 25-year contract, which must show households are protected if the state's largest power user exits early and leaves costly infrastructure behind.
CALIFORNIA'S GREEN-HYDROGEN BET IS FADING
Los Angeles Times
Federal cuts, canceled plants, weak demand and broken fueling infrastructure have stalled the buildout; hydrogen now costs about four times as much per mile as gasoline, even before accounting for one-third of stations being offline.
PJM FLAGS MARYLAND AS A GRID TROUBLE SPOT
Maryland Matters
PJM calls Maryland one of its most concerning states because of limited high-voltage transmission, even though 93% of the region's projected data-center growth is coming from Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Power & Grid
HOCHUL WANTS 5 GW OF NEW NUCLEAR FOR NEW YORK
Times Union
The total combines NYPA's earlier 1-GW directive with the additional 4-GW target New York opened for review in June, more than doubling the state's current 3.4-GW nuclear fleet and reopening the fight over construction risk.
$600 BILLION IN CLEAN-ENERGY SPENDING SURVIVES TRUMP CUTS
POLITICO
The administration erased hundreds of billions in tax breaks, but previously appropriated grants, loans and contracts have proved much harder to unwind.
BECERRA PROPOSES TWO FREE HOURS OF MIDDAY POWER
SFGATE
The California candidate wants several million low-income households to use surplus solar free from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., though the campaign has not explained cost allocation or its claim of up to $1,000 in annual savings.
DOE KEEPS 1,420-MW MICHIGAN COAL PLANT RUNNING AGAIN
Michigan Public
A fifth emergency extension keeps J.H. Campbell available through November 14, more than a year after its planned closure; Michigan's attorney general says the orders cost customers $180 million through March.
FERC CLEARS 1.2-GW NEW YORK GAS PLANT FOR DATA-CENTER CAMPUS
Utility Dive
PowerTransitions plans to turn the 1974 Roseton gas-and-oil plant and its existing grid connection into an energy campus, showing how AI demand is repricing old power assets.
Data Centers
DATA-CENTER INVESTORS WANT TO BUY OHIO'S ELECTRIC UTILITY
cleveland.com
BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners is pursuing a roughly $10 billion acquisition of AES Ohio, raising questions about conflicts when investors backing giant loads also own the utility selling them power.
FLORIDA'S DATA-CENTER BACKLASH MOVES TO THE BALLOT
POLITICO
Candidates from the governor's race to county commissions are campaigning on bans, moratoriums and guardrails after local opposition stopped projects and turned data centers into a statewide primary issue.
ARIZONA PUTS LARGE-LOAD CO-OP DEALS UNDER STATE REVIEW
KTAR News
Rural electric cooperatives must seek commission approval for service agreements with data centers and other giant users, adding oversight intended to stop infrastructure costs from shifting to existing customers.
KANSAS CROWD SENDS DATA-CENTER RULES BACK FOR A REWRITE
KCUR
More than 100 opponents packed a Leavenworth County meeting after a 90-day moratorium expired, and planners voted 8-1 to revisit rules for the 1,000-plus-acre Project Bluestem proposal.
VIRGINIA DATA-CENTER SUBSIDY COST SCHOOLS $267 MILLION
Virginia Mercury
Good Jobs First estimates the sales-tax exemption cost Virginia $1.02 billion in fiscal 2024, including $267 million that otherwise would have supported K-12 schools, or about $212 per student.
Stat of the Day
200 GW
Demand represented by projects in ERCOT's paused Batch Zero
That is more than twice Texas' 91-GW demand record. More than 90% of the projects are data centers, but ERCOT currently expects roughly 65 GW to receive at least some power by 2032.
ABC13 / Texas Tribune ↗