Good morning. Congress has put data-center power costs on the Senate's desk, Wisconsin is bracing for two 765-kV lines and Oracle's New Mexico ad campaign now has a $3.4 million price tag. Let's dig in.
Top Stories
HOUSE PASSES DATA-CENTER RATEPAYER BILL 417-3
Associated Press
The bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act tells state utility commissions to consider making campuses above 100 MW cover the generation, transmission and distribution costs they create. The only three no votes came from progressives who called it too weak, and the House has now left for the midterms, leaving the Senate's timing uncertain.
ORACLE SPENT $3.4 MILLION TO SWAY A NEW MEXICO PERMIT
Source New Mexico
The state Ethics Commission says Oracle ran what was likely New Mexico's largest disclosed lobbying-ad campaign to influence Project Jupiter's air-quality review. The finding puts a price on the public campaign behind the proposed campus.
GEORGIA REGULATOR JOINS THE INDUSTRY SHE HELPED OVERSEE
Georgia Recorder
Former Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore now works for a data-center developer after helping shape Georgia policy for the sector. The move raises fresh questions about the state's revolving door.
CONNECTICUT POWER BILLS DROP 10.6% AS U.S. PRICES RISE
Connecticut Mirror
Residential bills fell from June 2025 to June 2026 while the national average rose about 5%. A fixed-price contract with the Millstone nuclear plant helped turn the public-benefits charge into a $30 to $34 monthly credit.
HOLTEC SHELVES NUCLEAR IPO AS MARKETS TURN ROUGH
Reuters
Holtec suspended a U.S. listing that was expected to headline the fall IPO calendar, citing market conditions. The retreat removes a near-term source of capital for a company pursuing reactor restarts, decommissioning work and small modular reactors.
Power & Grid
ALLIANT SEEKS A SEPARATE RATE FOR AI DATA CENTERS
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wisconsin utility filed a dedicated tariff for large campuses after state regulators ordered utilities to separate their risks from ordinary customers. The case will test who pays when new load requires major grid investment.
LAWMAKERS WANT 180 MORE DAYS TO REVIEW MEGA-LINES
La Crosse Tribune
Wisconsin Reps. Tara Johnson and Andrew Hysell want regulators to be able to extend unusually complex transmission reviews. Their proposal follows opposition to the BECI and MariBell 765-kV lines, whose towers could rise about 175 feet.
DEREGULATED STATES LOST THE HABIT OF LONG-TERM PLANNING
Utility Dive
The Clean Air Task Force says short-term power markets are poorly suited to nuclear, geothermal, offshore wind and long-duration storage. Its fix combines scenario planning, technology roadmaps and state-led procurement without restoring vertically integrated utilities.
CLEAN-ENERGY TAX CREDITS TURN INTO A BUYER'S MARKET
Utility Dive
Developers are producing transferable credits faster than corporations are buying them. Technology-neutral investment credits now fetch 88 to 91 cents on the dollar, while lower-risk wind and solar production credits hold at 92 to 94.5 cents.
STATES MOVE FIRST ON DATA-CENTER POWER COSTS
Newsweek
State regulators are building tariffs, contracts and cost-allocation rules meant to keep large campuses from shifting grid expenses onto households. The state-by-state push is moving faster than the new federal ratepayer bill.
Data Centers
SILICON VALLEY MEETS THE DATA-CENTER BACKLASH
Reuters
San Jose courted AI infrastructure as an economic prize. Residents and environmental groups are now organizing against the power, water and neighborhood costs of the projects moving toward approval.
CRUSOE SHIFTS FROM MEGA-CAMPUSES TO FACTORY-BUILT SITES
The Wall Street Journal
The round reported two weeks ago at $3 billion and a $30 billion valuation closed at $3.9 billion and a valuation near $31 billion. Crusoe is now betting that smaller factory-built campuses can deploy faster than giant custom projects.
SIX IN 10 AMERICANS WOULD LIMIT NEW DATA CENTERS
TIME
An AP-NORC and University of Chicago poll finds about 60% support limits on new campuses, with roughly the same share reporting high concern about local power prices or water supplies.
GOOGLE PUTS $1.5 MILLION INTO MISSOURI HOME UPGRADES
Columbia Missourian
As it builds a large campus between Columbia and St. Louis, Google is funding insulation, windows and efficient heating and cooling in four counties. A regional nonprofit will direct the money to household weatherization.
ENTERGY DROPS SUIT OVER LEAKED DATA-CENTER AGREEMENT
Arkansas Advocate
The utility abandoned its case after a newspaper published West Memphis agreement details released in error by state regulators. The retreat leaves the disputed terms public as lawmakers scrutinize who pays for infrastructure serving Google's $4 billion campus.
Stat of the Day
53%
Share of Americans highly concerned about AI's environmental impact
That is up from 41% last year, with concern rising among Democrats, Republicans and independents.
TIME ↗