Power Demand

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has adopted a rule for reliability purposes requiring cryptocurrency mining facilities in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region to register with the state and annually report details about their location, ownership, form of business, and demand for electricity.    The PUCT’s new rule, adopted on Nov. […]

The need for emissions-free power generation, along with the ability to provide more power when and where it’s needed, is driving research and development of smaller nuclear reactors. Energy industry

Tuesday’s election, which will return Donald Trump to the White House and grant the U.S. Senate a Republican majority, could have sizeable implications for the power industry. In reactions sent to POWER, industry groups expressed a combination of cautious optimism, resilience, and preparedness for potential changes. Industry leaders are bracing for a pro-fossil fuel agenda […]

As an energy professional in Georgia with a front row seat to the construction of Plant Vogtle, I found the October 23 Washington Post editorial endorsing nuclear energy as a tool for combating climate change astonishing. Georgia is the first state to build nuclear power in 30 years and the editorial board profoundly mischaracterized what […]

You don’t need me to tell you how artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting the power grid; you can just ask AI. Claude, an AI assistant created by Anthropic, told POWER, “AI training and inference are driving unprecedented demand for data center capacity, particularly due to large language models and other compute-intensive AI workloads.” It also […]

Dominion Energy has sold a 50% noncontrolling interest in its 2.6-GW Coastal Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) commercial project to infrastructure investment group Stonepeak. The Richmond, Virginia–headquartered utility in an Oct. 25 financial filing said it received proceeds of $2.6 billion for the sale. The amount represents “reimbursement of approximately 50% of project-to-date capital investment.” […]

Tech giant Microsoft announced an initial investment of $1 billion to support three new data centers in Licking County, Ohio. The company on Oct. 28 confirmed construction of campuses in New Albany, Heath, and Hebron that will support the company’s Azure cloud computing platform as demand for cloud technology and data storage increases. One Columbus, […]

Cuba is in the throes of a severe energy crisis, driven by fuel supply disruptions and compounded by obstacles in securing vital technologies and supplies needed to modernize and operate its aging power plants. The situation, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions, has left the nation’s energy system teetering. At the same time, the island nation is […]

American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiary AEP Ohio filed a settlement agreement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and key stakeholders on Oct. 23 to address the costs of power infrastructure improvements required for Ohio’s rapidly expanding data center industry. The agreement, which is subject to review and approval by PUCO, sets a precedent […]

An initiative aimed at connecting more of Africa’s population to the continent’s power grids will use GE Vernova’s GridOS orchestration software. A newly completed Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, designed for the West African Power Pool (WAPP), is considered “a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming the region’s energy landscape,” according to an […]

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has identified 13 new transmission substation and line projects designed to reinforce the Pacific Northwest’s electric grid. If constructed, these projects would accommodate regional load growth and enable the BPA to add thousands of megawatts of new wind and solar generation, and battery storage to the federal grid. Combined, the […]

In a deal that marks the first corporate agreement to deploy multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S., Kairos Power and Google have signed a Master Plant Development Agreement to facilitate the development of a 500-MW fleet of molten salt nuclear reactors by 2035 to power Google’s data centers. The first reactor is expected […]

The rapid acceleration of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models, is significantly increasing the computational demands on data centers. This growth is not only stressing the infrastructure but also exacerbating environmental impacts due to high power consumption. 

Rapid growth in the U.S. data center market is ushering in a new era of power demand and testing the ability of electric utilities to keep pace with this surging growth. Data center energy use has doubled over the past three years and is expected to continue climbing as more hyperscale data centers leveraging power-hungry […]

$100 billion investment potential will enhance American competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI) while meeting the growing need for energy infrastructure to power economic growth The drive to develop more powerful AI capabilities will require significant infrastructure investment to support it. BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Microsoft, and MGX announced on Sept. 17 the Global AI […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA’s) board of directors has approved an additional $150 million for the public power utility’s $200 million New Nuclear Program to boost continued design work and development of potential small modular reactors (SMRs) at TVA’s Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The combined $350 million funding for the project will […]

While global nuclear power capacity has remained at a consistent level over the past decade, newly released data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggests that more than two-thirds of the world’s nuclear reactors are more than 30 years old, and nearly a third have been in operation for 40 years. According to the […]

The Biden administration will invest $2.2 billion in eight projects under its Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) program to bolster the nation’s power grid with nearly 13 GW of new transmission capacity across 18 states. The funding, announced on Aug. 6, marks the second round under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) GRIP program, a […]

Emerging from a historic election that stripped the African National Congress (ANC) party of its majority, South Africa’s new government has indicated it will accelerate the transition to renewable power to

Prices at PJM Interconnection’s 2025/2026 base residual auction (BRA) spiked to $269.92/MW-day for most resources in the wholesale power market, pointing to a tightening supply-demand balance that could have significant implications for the regional transmission organization (RTO). The 2025/2026 BRA—a competitive capacity auction that procures power supply resources in advance of the delivery year to […]

This month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Commonwealth’s largest utility, Dominion Energy, announced a request for proposal (RFP) for the development and construction of an advanced nuclear small modular reactor (SMR), and the governor signed Senate Bill 454 designed to facilitate the research, design, construction, and deployment of what will be America’s first commercial […]

Engineering giant Burns & McDonnell has entered into an agreement with nuclear technology specialist BWXT Technologies to advance the design and development of the BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor (BANR). The microreactor project is an integral part of a contract with the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA), which is assessing the viability of deploying small-scale nuclear reactors […]

It’s not uncommon to hear people talk about the energy transition. Yet, throughout its history, the power industry has almost always been transitioning in one way or another. There are constantly new

Facing unprecedented lead times and skyrocketing costs, the transformer supply chain crisis threatens the backbone of the electric power industry, driving urgent calls for increased manufacturing capacity and innovative solutions. Can the industry rise to the challenge? For several years now, the power sector has frantically raised the alarm about an impending transformer supply chain […]

High-voltage power transmission systems are more important today than ever before because power generated at renewable energy sites in remote locations must often be transmitted to distant load centers. Several state-of-the-art projects being done around the world are reviewed below. The majority of major electric power transmission lines in the U.S. are 115-kV, 230-kV, or […]

In the U.S., regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) are responsible for overseeing the reliable operation of the high-voltage transmission system within their respective regions. In other countries, transmission system operators (TSOs) perform similar roles. In most cases, the primary objectives of these entities are to ensure the reliable and efficient operation […]

As coal, gas, and nuclear plants are retired, and wind and solar resources are added to the power grid, stability can become a problem. Understanding the solutions that are available to help manage potential issues is important for decision-makers so they can select the best options for their system. Grid stability and system strength have […]

Entergy Texas filed an application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) for approval to build two natural gas power plants—one in Jefferson County and the other in Liberty County. “The Legend and Lone Star Power Stations will address the critical need for increased power generation capacity, support increased economic activity throughout the region, […]

The White House has unveiled a suite of new measures aimed at slashing risks associated with new nuclear reactor development and construction, underscoring its policy push to champion nuclear. At a May 29 White House summit that showcased recent policy developments and industry investments, the Biden administration announced the formation of a nuclear working group […]

An executive with the TC Energy, a group that is among the largest operators of natural gas pipelines in North America, said electricity demand from energy-intensive data centers will support an increased need for the fuel in the coming years. Stanley Chapman, executive vice president and COO of Calgary, Alberta-based TC Energy, in a May […]