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Data Center Demand Challenges Dominate EMPOWER 26 Presentations

Mar 1, 2026Public PolicyJon Lamson

The challenges of meeting accelerating load growth dominated discussions at EMPOWER 26, Yes Energy’s annual summit.

RTO Insider

Beth Garza, R Street Institute, and Ted Thomas, Energize Strategies

MISO-SPP Conference Eyes Future Generation Trends

Mar 1, 2026MISOAmanda Durish Cook

The Gulf Coast Power Association’s MISO-SPP Regional Conference showcased the rush to add resources, and panelists mused on which new trends could take hold in resource expansion.

RTO Insider

MISO’s Tabitha Hernandez and SPP’s Yasser Bahbaz share a lighthearted moment during their panel discussion.

MISO, SPP Collaborate on Their ERAS Proposals

Mar 1, 2026MISOTom Kleckner

MISO and SPP credited interregional collaboration with helping them win FERC's approval of their expedited study processes.

RTO Insider

The London-based Energy Aspects, which provides data and analysis on the global energy markets, held its annual conference at the Waldorf Astoria Washington, D.C., hotel Feb. 24.

Jason Dixon Photography

Swett, Energy Company Officials Press for Permitting Reform

Mar 1, 2026Public PolicyStakeholder

Congress needs to disallow states from vetoing Clean Water Act permits for interstate natural gas pipelines, FERC Chair Laura Swett said at an energy conference.

RTO Insider

PSEG

PSEG Looks to Support N.J.’s Nuclear, Gas Generation Plans

Mar 1, 2026Company NewsHugh Morley

PSEG is working to meet the energy needs expressed by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and is gearing up to help with the potential expansion of the state’s nuclear and gas generation fleet.

RTO Insider

Rendering of TerraPower’s Natrium power plant

DOE

TerraPower Poised to Break Ground on Natrium Nuclear Plant in Wyoming

Mar 1, 2026ResourcesStakeholder

Bill Gates-backed nuclear power startup TerraPower expects to break ground on its planned Natrium power plant in Wyoming within weeks, the company’s top executive said Feb. 24.

Black Hills, PowerWatch to Join WEIM in May

Mar 1, 2026CAISO/WEIMHenrik Nilsson

Black Hills Energy and PowerWatch are to join CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market, extending the market’s geographical reach into South Dakota, the ISO announced.

How Should We Do Affordability?

Mar 1, 2026Public PolicyK Kaufmann

According to the Business Council for Sustainable Energy’s 2026 Factbook, U.S. consumers spent “slightly less” on electricity in 2025 than they did in in 2024.

ERO Insider

A chart of 10-year summer and winter peak demand growth and rate trends in MRO shows that over the past six years of projections, winter peak demand growth has outpaced summer demand growth, indicating a shift to higher energy usage during winter months.

MRO

Energy Availability Tops MRO’s 2026 Risk List

Feb 26, 2026Regional EntitiesHolden Mann

MRO's Regional Risk Assessment found uncertain energy availability to be the highest priority risk for the third year in a row.

DOE Loans $26.5B to Southern Co. for Infrastructure Upgrades

Feb 25, 2026Regional EntitiesHolden Mann

Southern Co. will receive $26.5 billion in loans to support generation and transmission upgrades.

FERC Declines to Suggest Interregional Transmission Requirements

Feb 25, 2026Resource AdequacyJames Downing

FERC declined to suggest any minimum interregional transfer capability requirements in a report to Congress.

NetZero Insider

N.J. Considering Use of RGGI Funds to Curb Rate Hikes

Feb 26, 2026State and Local PolicyHugh Morley

New Jersey is studying whether to use funds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to keep down electricity rates and restructure the way utilities are compensated in an effort to reduce the pressure on electricity prices.

Oregon’s Offshore Wind Road Map Acknowledges Uncertainty

Feb 23, 2026State and Local PolicyHenrik Nilsson

Oregon released a draft road map to provide state lawmakers with recommendations on how to proceed with offshore wind endeavors, while acknowledging the uncertainty the industry faces.

Dominion Reports $3B in 2025 Earnings, Progress on CVOW Despite Delay

Feb 23, 2026Company NewsJames Downing

Dominion Energy updated analysts on its efforts to complete a major offshore wind project and to meet rising demand from data centers on its fourth-quarter earnings call.

RTO Insider

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform E1090 NVMe enterprise designed for mid-sized data centers

Hitachi Vantara

AI Has to be Reliable Before We Trust it with our Grid

Mar 2, 2026ResourcesDej Knuckey

Columnist Dej Knuckey says there’s no doubt AI can be exponentially faster, smarter, and more innovative and efficient than the current workforce, but can it be reliable?

MISO Sees Possibility for 500-GW Fleet in 20 Years

Mar 2, 2026MISOAmanda Durish Cook

MISO said its modeling estimates show it could be in for anywhere from 413 GW to 501 GW of installed capacity in its system by 2045.

IESO Expands Hydro Eligibility in Long Lead-Time Procurement

Mar 1, 2026IESORich Heidorn Jr.

Changing course, IESO agreed to accept separately metered expansions as “new build” projects in its upcoming Long Lead-Time procurement.

CPUC Orders Massive 6 GW of New Capacity to Feed Data Centers, Other Loads

Feb 28, 2026CAISO/WEIMDavid Krause

The California Public Utilities Commission ordered 6 GW of new capacity to meet forecast data center and electric vehicle loads — among other new demand — in the state.

Grant County PUD

SPP Secures 2 More Commitments for Markets+ in Washington

Feb 27, 2026Company NewsHenrik Nilsson

SPP has secured two new commitments for its day-ahead Markets+, as Grant County Public Utility District and Tacoma Power in Washington state announced their intent to join.

Shutterstock

Judge Orders Spill at Northwest Dams to Aid Salmon, Despite Energy Concerns

Feb 26, 2026CAISO/WEIMHenrik Nilsson

A federal judge in Oregon ordered increased spill levels at eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in order to protect endangered salmon species, rejecting claims that doing so would impede power generation.

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ERO Insider

MISO CEO John Bear (left) and SPP CEO Lanny Nickell

MISO, SPP CEOs Bet on Improved Interconnection Processes for AI Load

Feb 26, 2026Regional EntitiesAmanda Durish Cook

MISO’s and SPP’s CEOs are confident their interconnection queues will be up to the task of meeting new data center load once their respective special expedited lanes wind down.

Police, FBI Seeking Motive in Nevada Grid Attack

Feb 23, 2026Regional EntitiesHolden Mann

Police and FBI investigators are trying to determine the motivation of a man who died during an apparent attempt to damage an electric substation in Nevada.

The Co-location Quandary: The Cybersecurity Risk to Nuclear

Feb 23, 2026FERC & FederalStakeholder

Opinion writer Shahid Mahdi worries about the cybersecurity risks of co-location, and asks if a co-located data center is hit with ransomware, does the nuclear plant have to trip offline?

Colorado Bill Addresses Impacts of Coal Plant Extensions

Feb 22, 2026Regional EntitiesElaine Goodman

A bill in the Colorado legislature seeks to reduce the environmental impact of federal orders delaying the retirement of coal-fired power plants.

FERC Order 901 directs NERC to develop reliability standards addressing inverter-based resources such as wind and solar generators.

PacifiCorp

FERC Approves Latest IBR Standards

Feb 19, 2026Standards/ProgramsHolden Mann

FERC accepted five new reliability standards setting requirements for model validation and data sharing for inverter-based resources.

NERC

Members Seek Clarity on NERC Standard Committee’s Future

Feb 18, 2026Standards/ProgramsHolden Mann

Standards Committee members asked for details on the committee's future after NERC's Board of Trustees approved sweeping changes to the standards development process.

View Calendar

Stakeholder Meetings

2Mar

10:00 pm - 4:00 pm

NYISO ICAP/MIWG/PRLWG Meeting

3Mar

8:00 am - 6:00 pm

2026 EPSA Competitive Power Summit

3Mar

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

NYISO Transmission Planning Advisory Subcommittee and Electric System Planning Working Group Meeting

3Mar

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

WEM Governing Body General Session

3Mar

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

SPP Cost Control and Allocation Review & Evaluation (CARE) Team Meeting

Industry Gatherings

NetZero Insider

Electricity generation resources by year under the model

CEC

Solar and Wind Dominate California’s Energy Future, CEC Model Shows

Feb 23, 2026Federal PolicyDavid Krause

Solar and wind resources could generate up to 85% of California’s electricity by 2045, according to a report being drafted by the energy commission.

Record 86 GW of Generation Additions Projected in 2026

Feb 22, 2026Federal PolicyJohn Cropley

The EIA released a report that said a record 86 GW of utility-scale capacity is projected to be added to the grid in 2026, which if true, would far outpace the 53 GW of capacity added in 2025.

EPA Repeals 2024 MATS Updates for Coal Plants

Feb 20, 2026Federal PolicyJames Downing

EPA revoked its 2024 updates to the MATS rules, which included regulation of non-mercury emissions and monitoring equipment requirements for all covered power plants.

Colo. PUC Approves 3.2-GW PSCo Resource Package

Feb 19, 2026Federal PolicyElaine Goodman

Colorado regulators approved 3.2 GW of new resources requested by Public Service Company of Colorado under an expedited approval process designed to take advantage of soon-expiring federal tax credits.

ARCHES

California, 12 Other States Sue Trump Admin. Over Energy Grant Terminations

Feb 19, 2026Federal PolicyJohn Cropley

Thirteen blue states are suing the Trump administration for reversing Biden administration funding commitments worth $7.6 billion for energy and infrastructure projects.

The four years of growth in the actual and projected power consumption by U.S. data centers are shown.

BloombergNEF

Report Touts U.S. Sustainable Energy Despite Volatile Policies

Feb 18, 2026ResourcesJohn Cropley

The annual status report from the Business Council for Sustainable Energy finds sustainable energy met rising U.S. power demands in 2025 despite the far-reaching policy shifts roiling the sector.