Good morning. The power bill is becoming the battleground. Microsoft is fighting Wisconsin utilities over who pays for its grid buildout, Pennsylvania is tying data-center tax breaks to new rules, and a trade war could make New England electricity more expensive.
Top Stories
MICROSOFT AND RATEPAYERS BOTH REJECT WISCONSIN'S DATA-CENTER DEAL
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Microsoft and consumer advocates asked federal regulators to delay transmission agreements for the company's Mount Pleasant campus. Both say the utility plan can shift costs to ordinary customers, while Microsoft also objects to a 15-year exit charge negotiated without its input.
SHAPIRO ADDS CONDITIONS TO PENNSYLVANIA'S DATA-CENTER TAX BREAK
PennLive
Developers must now adopt the state's clean-energy, labor and community standards to qualify for Pennsylvania's data-center sales-tax exemption. Those that refuse also face a harder permitting track requiring every state application to be filed before any permit can be issued.
CANADA'S TRADE THREAT LANDS ON NEW ENGLAND'S POWER BILL
Utility Dive
Ontario says electricity and critical-mineral exports are on the table after new 50% U.S. tariffs. ISO New England expects no reliability problem in normal weather if imports fall, but warns wholesale prices and emissions would rise.
DATA-CENTER OPPOSITION HAS NO PARTY LINE
Associated Press
From a paused Nebraska project to protests in New Mexico, local fights over electricity, water and land are uniting groups that agree on little else. The backlash is becoming a durable national constraint rather than a cluster of isolated zoning disputes.
MAINE REVIVES A 1,200-MW TRANSMISSION BET
Maine Morning Star
State regulators selected Central Maine Power for a 1,200-MW line and Clearway for an 800-MW northern Maine wind project after years of delay. CMP's existing corridors and secured rights of way helped the proposal beat competing routes.
Power & Grid
BIG POWER USERS JOIN THE CALL TO DELAY A 500-KV LINE
WV MetroNews
West Virginia's largest industrial customers support a 60-day pause for the 107.5-mile Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link after five route changes added newly affected landowners. Regulators have logged 6,757 opposition letters and 152 in support.
SIEMENS ENERGY WILL SPIN OFF A $6.7 BILLION INDUSTRIAL UNIT
The Wall Street Journal
Siemens Energy plans to separate its Transformation of Industry division, which employs 17,000 people and posted an 11.3% profit margin last year. The move leaves the parent more concentrated on generation and grid equipment.
PACIFICORP'S EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS FAIL THE COST TEST
Utility Dive
A proposed California settlement would suspend the utility's ratepayer-funded efficiency portfolio and trim bills 0.7%. Business-program savings fell about 75% from 2022 to 2024, while total portfolio savings dropped 40% in 2024 alone.
LAWSUIT SAYS MASSACHUSETTS IGNORED ITS OWN CLIMATE RULES
The Center Square
A prolonged court fight says the state failed to follow policies meant to limit climate-related emissions. The case turns Massachusetts' own rulebook into the standard against which its implementation record will be judged.
AI LOWERS THE BAR FOR ATTACKS ON CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Axios
Security researchers warn that AI tools can accelerate reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery and attack planning against power, water and other essential systems. The same automation helping defenders is expanding the pool of attackers who can probe operational networks.
Data Centers
AN 8-GW DATA CENTER MEETS OHIO'S NUCLEAR LEGACY
The Guardian
OpenAI, Nvidia and SoftBank's SB Energy plan a $500 billion campus on the former Portsmouth enrichment site, fed by at least 10 GW of new generation, most of it gas, under a 20-year OpenAI lease. Residents are raising contamination, air-pollution and water concerns.
PAXTON TURNS DATA-CENTER RESTRICTIONS INTO A SENATE PLATFORM
The Hill
The Texas attorney general wants rural siting limits, an end to industry tax breaks and rules making developers cover infrastructure costs. His plan also backs off-grid generation and criminal liability for companies whose AI products undermine child safety.
IOWA'S DATA-CENTER FIGHT BUILDS CAMPAIGNS ON BOTH SIDES
Iowa Capital Dispatch
Citizen, environmental and business groups are rolling out toolkits and local organizing around water, electricity, tax incentives and jobs. The infrastructure debate is starting to resemble Iowa's long-running fights over pipelines and industrial agriculture.
EMERALD AI SELLS FLEXIBILITY AS AN ANSWER TO THE BACKLASH
The New York Times / DealBook
The startup is betting that movable computing workloads can help data centers respond to grid constraints instead of demanding uninterrupted power at every location. The pitch turns flexibility into a way for AI developers to win scarce capacity and community acceptance.
MICROSOFT WILL FUND NEW POWER ALONGSIDE NEW COMPUTE
ESG Dive
Qcells will develop generation and flexible resources for Microsoft or host utilities as the companies expand a partnership that already covers 12 GW of solar modules. They are also exploring virtual power plants built from thousands of customer batteries.
Stat of the Day
2,500
Permanent jobs promised at the Piketon campus, against 35,000 during construction
The first 800 MW is due in 2028, on a site that enriched uranium for nearly 50 years.
The Guardian ↗