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The PJM Interconnection Board issued a proposal on Monday to address a 6.8 GW capacity shortfall through a one-time reserve capacity auction and to establish a load shedding framework for large loads such as data centers without self-supplied power during emergency conditions. Both proposals are expected to be submitted to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for review by the end of this month.
CenterPoint Energy said in its second-quarter earnings call that it has submitted more than 17GW of projects to ERCOT's new large load interconnection process, expecting about 14GW to qualify as base load or study load.
Last month, protesters disrupted a meeting of investor-owned utility executives in Las Vegas, highlighting public anger over high electricity prices. As affordability concerns heighten political pressure, several states have begun to reduce utilities' return on equity (ROE) through regulatory or legislative means. Consumer advocates argue this is long overdue, while utilities warn that lowering ROE could affect their credit ratings, ultimately translating into higher costs for customers. Experts note that in a key rate case pending in Maryland, the positions of both sides are clearly defined.
In the PJM Interconnection governance proceedings, OPSI proposed requiring PJM and its transmission owners to submit Section 205 filings of the Federal Power Act as directed by state governments. Former FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher believes this proposal violates the law, as the court in Mass. DPU v. FERC established that the Section 205 filing right is exclusive to utilities, and state governments should express their concerns through the Section 206 complaint procedure.
In court documents filed on July 15, the US Department of Energy admitted that the cancellation of 223 clean energy project grants (totaling $7.6 billion) in October 2025 was based entirely on the political affiliation of the recipients' states, rather than any project, regulatory, or performance factors. This 'striking admission' has drawn fierce criticism from Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups over the Trump administration's 'weaponization of the federal grant process.'
NextEra Energy executives said on the second-quarter earnings call that the merger with Dominion Energy is expected to close by the end of 2027, with the combined company achieving an annual growth rate of 11%. The company also disclosed its renewable energy project pipeline, progress in government negotiations, and FPL business updates.
The success of electrification projects depends not only on technology choices but also on integrating procurement into strategic design. This article analyzes the pain points of fragmented procurement in traditional contractor-installed projects, proposes that centralized procurement can strengthen bargaining power and improve data visibility, and highlights its particular applicability to direct-install and low-income eligible projects.
FERC Chairman Laura Swett warned at a technical conference that if PJM does not reach a governance reform agreement by the end of September, FERC will enforce reforms. The meeting focused on governance deficiencies exposed by the capacity market, state participation rights, board independence, and stakeholder process reforms. Although consensus is emerging among parties, differences remain.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) disclosed during its second-quarter earnings call that its data center pipeline has reached 12.7 GW, with 490 MW of projects having signed interconnection agreements and 3.9 GW in the final design stage. The company emphasized project quality over scale and expects to add 1.8 GW of data center load by 2030.
A new study from the University of California, Berkeley shows that by 2035, off-grid systems combining renewable energy, industrial heat pumps, and thermal energy storage could economically meet one-third of U.S. industrial heat demand. The study analyzed over 3,000 industrial sites and found that some regions are already cost-competitive, but face challenges such as reliability, investment, and space.