30Dec

2024 in Review

Happy almost new year! Before we turn the page on 2024, it’s worth looking back on the stories and major developments that shaped – even reshaped – the energy landscape over the past 12 months. Years of warnings about rapidly eroding grid reliability collided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) regulatory agenda and the […]
18Dec

NERC’s Christmas Present: Majority of the Nation Faces Blackout Risks

This should be the nail in the coffin of the Biden administration’s unworkable and downright dangerous regulatory policy undermining the nation’s power supply. According to new analysis from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), more than half of the nation faces blackout risks over the next decade due to capacity shortfalls. While these findings […]
11Dec

Power Demand Growth Gets Another Enormous Upward Revision

As we approach the end of the 2024, it is fitting that electricity demand growth has gotten another huge upward revision. According to new analysis from Grid Strategies, a leading power sector consulting firm, U.S. electricity demand could jump an astonishing 128 gigawatts (GW) over just the next five years driven largely by the data […]
04Dec

Europe’s Masterclass on What Not to Do

The trajectory for the nation’s electricity supply is alarming. Reserve margins are rapidly eroding, power demand is soaring and the price of electricity has jumped nearly 30% since 2019. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency keeping its boot on the neck of the power sector and the Department of the Interior deciding in the 11th hour […]
20Nov

NERC Warns of Power Shortfalls During Bitter Cold this Winter

Winter is here. The first snow of the season is expected across parts of the Midwest, Northeast, Great Lakes and even into the Southeast later this week. At elevation, a foot or more of snow could be coming. In the Northwest, a “bomb cyclone” storm is forming offshore with the potential to have the intensity […]
13Nov

Pumping the Brakes on Coal Plant RetirementS

In the wake of the election, with a major pivot on energy and regulatory policy coming in January, utilities are already publicly announcing they’re likely to postpone, or scrap altogether, plans to close coal plants. Utilities desperately need existing capacity as reserve margins shrink and power demand soars. Southern Company Chief Executive Officer Chris Womack […]
07Nov

Electricity Inflation at the Ballot Box

Donald Trump’s decisive win in the presidential election appears to have been fueled by broad discontent with the economy and notably inflation. ABC News preliminary exit poll results found that more than two-thirds of voters said the economy is in bad shape and the share of people who said they are worse off under the […]
30Oct

Inheriting an Electricity Affordability Crisis

In March of this year, federal data revealed the rise in electricity prices was far outpacing general inflation. With electricity demand beginning to soar from electrification, and most notably the data center and AI revolution, that trend is only poised to accelerate. According to new analysis from a leading energy consultancy, utilities are now facing […]
23Oct

The Numbers Aren’t Adding Up

At the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s annual Reliability Technical Conference on Oct. 16, the nation’s top grid reliability expert sounded like a doctor delivering grim news. Despite the many warnings, despite countless reports and congressional testimony, the reliability of the nation’s grid is going from bad to worse. North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) CEO Jim Robb […]
16Oct

We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat

Every month, projections on just how much and how fast U.S. electricity demand is growing keep rising. As those projections soar, the arithmetic of the energy transition is being rewritten in real time. There’s the unforgettable line in Jaws, when the chief of police, Martin Brody, sees the shark for the first time. Stunned, he […]