grid

  • Emerging Digital Technologies Leading to a Greener Future

    The energy industry continues to transition at a rapid pace. Across nearly every market, renewables are reliably and economically transitioning the grid from fossil fuels.

  • Wartsila Supporting Major Australian Energy Storage System

    Technology group Wärtsilä said the company will deliver the largest DC-coupled hybrid battery energy storage system (BESS) in the National Electricity Market (NEM) in Australia, reflecting a growing trend toward hybridization of storage assets with co-located renewable generation.

  • AI’s Growing Appetite: What the Grid Needs to Keep Up

    The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t just transforming industries; it is also transforming the energy grid. Behind every AI breakthrough lies a massive surge in computing power, and with it, an unprecedented demand for reliable and affordable electricity. As the U.S. positions itself for continued technological leadership, meeting the energy needs of AI data […]

  • Why This Summer’s Heat Proved the Case for a Smarter Grid

    The summer of 2025 pushed the U.S. electric grid to its limits. A brutal heat dome swept across the East Coast, while a powerful derecho tore through the Midwest, leaving more than 28,000 homes and businesses without power in Iowa alone. Demand surged to record levels. Yet despite the pressure, the grid avoided major blackouts. Smarter, more flexible systems are beginning to deliver results, but the need for faster transformation is undeniable.

  • Modernizing Central America’s Multinational High-Voltage Backbone

    Grid operator Empresa Propietaria de la Red (EPR) is modernizing Central America’s 230-kV SIEPAC backbone with advanced communications, fault-location tools, and cybersecurity to meet the unique challenges of a multinational high-voltage grid.

  • Ausgrid’s Bold Plan to Break Grid Monopoly Boundaries with Community Power Network

    Ausgrid, the state-owned electricity distributor serving 1.8 million customers across Sydney and beyond, has proposed a “Community Power Network” (CPN) that could upend a century-old regulatory boundary by

  • Highview Power’s Two UK LAES Projects Advance in Ofgem’s Cap and Floor Scheme

    Ofgem, the UK’s energy markets regulator, has deemed Highview Power’s proposed 3.2-GWh liquid air energy storage facilities at Hunterston and Killingholme eligible under its cap-and-floor regime, advancing them toward a final decision in Q2 2026. Alongside the 300-MWh Carrington project under development near Manchester, Highview’s portfolio is poised to provide more than 7 GWh of […]

  • POWER Digest [September 2025]

    Hitachi Energy, E.ON Ink $700M Deal to Strengthen German Grid. Hitachi Energy, the world’s largest transformer manufacturer, has signed a deal worth up to $700 million with German utility E.ON to supply

  • At a Time of Accelerating Change, Utilities Need to Build Flexibility into Their Strategy for Load Growth

    The past few years have brought decades worth of change to electric utilities. An increasing fraction of supply is coming from intermittent sources like solar and wind. Energy storage technology has become economically viable and has seen widespread deployment. And the industry as a whole is grappling with what seems like insatiable new demand from […]

  • When AI-First Becomes Practice, Your Energy Grid Better Be Ready

    From healthcare to aviation, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to close operational gaps and garner efficiencies in key industries. Indeed, 78% of respondents in McKinsey’s State of AI Survey for 2025 indicated that their organization is using AI for at least one business function. This year and beyond, the question of AI adoption […]

  • Virtual Power Plants: How to Power the Energy Economy by Stretching Today’s Grid

    The challenge posed by surging demand for electricity from data centers and high-performance computing facilities presents an ideal time for innovative energy solutions that efficiently improve grid reliability and increase the availability of clean, affordable electricity. Not only does the U.S. risk missing more than $100 billion of artificial intelligence (AI) market growth over the […]

  • Why Grid Hardening Needs to Be Smarter, Not Just Stronger

    While many utilities are hardening power grid infrastructure by upgrading poles and wires—a necessary step—brute force solutions alone won’t be enough. To truly future-proof the grid, resilience must be rooted in intelligence via systems that anticipate, adapt, and respond dynamically.

  • SEL Introduces the LINAM UGFI Underground Fault Indicator

    Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories recently announced the release of the LINAM UGFI Underground Fault Indicator, a product of the E. O. Schweitzer Manufacturing facility in Lake Zurich, Illinois. The innovative device offers several key features that help distribution system operators reduce the duration of outages by streamlining underground fault locating. The LINAM UGFI is rugged, submersible, […]

  • The POWER Interview: Hitachi Energy’s Massimo Danieli on Grid Transformation and the Path to Electrification

    As the global energy landscape undergoes unprecedented transformation, Hitachi Energy stands at the forefront of technologies driving the transition toward a more sustainable and flexible power system. In this exclusive interview with POWER, Massimo Danieli, managing director for Hitachi Energy’s Grid Automation business unit, offers valuable insights into how electrification, renewable integration, and digital solutions […]

  • Heathrow Airport Transformer Fire Prompts Urgent Inquiry, Exposes Cracks in Grid Resilience

    One week after a catastrophic fire at the North Hyde electrical substation plunged the UK’s flagship Heathrow Airport into chaos, questions are mounting about what went wrong—and what the incident reveals about the vulnerabilities in Britain’s aging power infrastructure. A massive explosion and fire that erupted around 8:20 p.m., on Thursday, March 20, at the […]

  • GridBeyond Will Optimize 200-MW ESS in California

    GridBeyond said it has signed a contract with Gore Street Energy Storage Fund to provide scheduling coordinator, trading, and energy optimization services for the 200-MW Big Rock energy storage system (ESS) in Southern California.

  • PG&E, Citizens Energy Program Will Fund Grid Investments, Benefit Ratepayers

    California-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and nonprofit charitable organization Citizens Energy Corp. are partnering on a proposed investment program that expects to provide more than $450 million to help PG&E customers in low- and moderate-income households pay their energy bills. Submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) late last month, the updated […]

  • Duke Researchers: Grid Flexibility Key to Accommodate Load Growth

    Researchers from Duke University have said that integrating more flexibility into U.S. power grids could help provide the energy needed to power future load growth, particularly the electricity needed to support artificial intelligence and data centers. The group in a Feb. 19 webinar discussed their findings, which are contained in their recent report titled “Rethinking […]

  • A Renewed Vision for the Energy Grid: Turning Challenges into Opportunities

    As the world accelerates toward an electrified future driven by renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs), and industrial electrification, energy distribution grids face unprecedented challenges. From grid overloads and delays in connecting distributed energy resources (DERs) to frequency instabilities and inadequate infrastructure upgrades, the need for transformative action is clear. These challenges, however, present a unique opportunity to rethink and […]

  • Restoration Efforts Continue Following Complete Blackout of Puerto Rico’s Power Grid

    LUMA, Puerto Rico’s electric power transmission and distribution system operator, has struggled to restore power to some of its customers in the wake of an outage that left the entire island without power on Dec. 31 at 5:30 a.m. local time. The company activated its Emergency Operations Center soon after the event occurred and said […]

  • How Mobile Solutions Are Transforming Utility Network Operations

    The electric power sector is undergoing a digital transformation with mobile applications playing a crucial role by enabling real-time data sharing and more efficient grid management. Innovative technology is

  • Five Critical Insights from NERC’s 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment

    Well over half of North America faces a potential shortage of electricity supplies in the coming years, compounded by surging demand growth, accelerating generator retirements, and delays in resource development, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has warned in its latest 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment (LTRA). The designated electric reliability organization’s (ERO’s) annual 10-year […]

  • GE Vernova to Provide Grid-Stabilizing Technology for German Transmission System Operator

    GE Vernova secured a contract with 50Hertz Transmission GmbH to deliver advanced STATCOM technology, supporting Germany’s transition to a renewable energy future The 300 Mvar FACTSFLEX GFM solution, with Grid Forming Control, will enhance grid stability and resilience as Germany integrates more renewable energy sources STATCOM units will be deployed at key substations in Germany, […]

  • The POWER Interview: Growth in Renewables Brings Opportunities for Energy Storage

    Energy storage technologies have become more important to the power generation sector, in part because of their ability to support the deployment of renewable energy resources. Battery energy storage systems, or BESS, enable renewable resources such as solar and wind power to be stored for when that electricity is needed. Storage systems help balance the […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: How Much Power Will Data Centers Consume? (Infographic)

    Driven by artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and the digital transformation, U.S. data centers consumed an estimated 150 TWh of electricity in 2023—equivalent to around 3% of the nation’s power demand. Globally, data center demand hovered at 340 TWh in 2023—about 1.3% of worldwide electricity use. Multiple sources project this demand will surge dramatically through […]

  • The Queensland SuperGrid Marries the Old and the New

    The Australian state of Queensland is in the midst of a rapid changeover from coal to renewables. From 70% coal generation today, it is switching to 70% renewables by 2032. This means phasing out 8.1 GW of coal and some of its 3 GW of gas generation, while simultaneously building at least 25 GW of […]

  • New FERC Has Golden Opportunity to Pass Interregional Transmission Planning Rule

    Our electric system was designed to experience service interruptions once per decade. That time is long gone. In the past three years, the U.S. South has sustained two debilitating winter storms, forcing utilities to cut power when their customers needed it the most. In 2023 alone, the U.S. was hit with more than 28 separate […]

  • $2.2B for 13 GW of New Transmission Capacity: DOE Unveils Latest Boost for U.S. Grid Modernization

    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 […]

  • PJM Capacity Auction Prices Surge Over Nine-Fold, Signal Urgent Need for New Power Generation

    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 […]

  • DOE Loans Office Will Support Solar, Energy Storage Systems in Puerto Rico

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) on July 18 announced a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $861.3 million to Clean Flexible Energy, LLC. The money will finance construction of two solar photovoltaic (PV) farms equipped with battery storage, and two standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS), in […]