utilities

What’s driving a fundamental shift in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracting? Equipment lead times. Workforce shortages. Data center timelines. POWER examines how the traditional EPC

As utility leaders look to manage the ever-growing volatility in the industry, they also need to prepare for a shifting regulatory landscape that could bring unprecedented competition.

Global energy demand is accelerating, and organizations are increasingly turning to nuclear power to secure stable, long-term electricity supplies. Advances in AI, modular design, and predictive analytics are helping overcome legacy hurdles of cost, complexity, and schedule, while business leaders shift capital toward projects that prioritize resilience as much as efficiency.

Vegetation is a much-needed part of the natural world and is essential for life to thrive on Earth. Yet, when unmanaged, it’s also one of the greatest threats to the grid and a leading culprit for causing outages. Fallen branches topple powerlines, roots damage underground cables, and overgrown trees close to energized wires are known […]

In today’s business climate, where uncertainty is the only constant, all energy companies and utilities are looking for opportunities to preserve profit and enhance efficiency. For organizations managing

The dual challenges of affordability and growing load demand are putting enormous stress on utilities, communities and households. Demand response, a key part of the solution, is falling short, but innovative payment plans can help fill the gap. Residential demand response (DR) is like the aerobic exercise of the electric utility industry. We all know […]

Visual inspections of the power grid have traditionally relied on manual methods and reactive responses. These inspections, whether performed on foot, by helicopter or drone, often involve fragmented data systems and delayed reporting cycles. The approach worked for decades, but it is no longer sufficient. Utilities are now facing intensified pressure on several fronts. Infrastructure […]

 Yes, you need to shut off the power … 60-plus-mile-per-hour winds whipping down the mountains, ample dry vegetation in their path, and a significant population in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) with unassuming residential areas beyond. These conditions set the stage for catastrophic fires, including those in Eaton Canyon in Los Angeles, California, in 2025, and in […]

The explosive growth of hyperscale data centers is reshaping the power sector at unprecedented speed. In just a few short years, load requests from data center operators have gone from occasional filings to a full-on wave of gigawatt-scale development across North America. While much attention has been paid to the trend of co-locating data centers […]

Citing a mounting compliance crunch in America’s coal-fired power sector, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized new rules extending key deadlines for coal ash cleanup and management, while floating the prospect of a further 12-month delay. The changes address calls from utilities, engineering contractors, and state regulators for more realistic timeframes to assess, […]

The uncertainty surrounding the global tariff war is reshaping the landscape of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within the energy sector. This dynamic environment presents both challenges and opportunities for investors, compelling them to navigate a complex web of trade policies, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical shifts.

In an era where grid modernization, decarbonization, and electrification dominate utility agendas, fleet management strategies are lagging behind. Many utility and power generation providers continue to rely on outdated vehicle management platforms that lack the advanced total cost of ownership (TCO) analytics needed to support today’s evolving operational and sustainability goals.

The energy industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by advancements in digital technology and the ever-growing need for real-time data analytics. As energy companies look to modernize their operations, they face unique challenges that demand innovative solutions. Some of the most pressing concerns for energy professionals today include: Increased risk of downtime and the […]

Increasing adoption of cloud computing gave rise to the development of data centers, but the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and the increasing demand for digital services has resulted in an exponential surge of data center growth. The industry is in a transformative phase that will be marked by significant developments in infrastructure, technology […]

Nearly every utility in the world has embarked on their own journey of digital transformation, using data to help make processes faster and more efficient. Traditionally, utility data has been collected in silos to support individual functions, and utilities have been hard at work to break down these silos so data can be shared among […]

The use of distributed energy resources (DERs) will continue to grow as utilities, businesses, and residential neighborhoods look for ways to balance the power grid and support more reliable and resilient

Home heating is approaching an impasse—there is great opportunity to decarbonize through heat pumps for both heating and cooling, but rising electricity rates might discourage consumers from getting on

Utility companies are going headfirst into a whirlwind of challenges from increasing electricity demands and new sustainability initiatives, to meeting evolving customer expectations. Power demand in the U.S. is on a sharp upward trajectory, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) having forecast a new peak of 4.099 trillion kWh in 2024, climbing further to […]

Energy and utilities companies are grappling with unprecedented challenges. With the cost of electricity surging by 28.5% in just five years, the average American now spends nearly $300 a month on utilities, leading to a rise in customer defaults and mounting bad debt. Global energy demand is only set to grow in the coming years […]

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision this past summer in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo marks a significant shift in administrative law by overturning the long-standing principle of Chevron deference, which was established in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. in 1984. The Loper ruling from earlier this year is poised to have […]

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 […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a plan to implement a new label program that it expects will help federal purchasers and buyers find and choose more climate-friendly construction materials. Under the label program, which stems from “extensive public input,” the EPA will initially focus on asphalt, concrete, glass, and steel products with “lower […]

As climate change accelerates, rising humidity is causing an increase in the number and severity of storms occurring in the northern hemisphere. An academic study found that the frequency of unstable atmospheric conditions increased by 8% to 32% over most land areas from 1979 to 2020. “Storm intensity is increasing much faster than the average […]

The U.S. is assembling a new power grid infrastructure—and not a moment too soon. The need for dynamic new approaches in the power and utility sector has never been more urgent. New kinds of distributed

Virtual power plants (VPPs), as aggregations of dispatchable distributed energy resources (DERs), can deliver grid services ranging from resource adequacy to reliability at scale—all while making energy more affordable. Yet, despite their merits, the U.S. utility industry is yet to leverage the full potential of these readily available, affordable, customer-sited resources to add flexibility to the grid. Of course, the decision to incorporate […]

North American electric utilities continue to grapple with the challenge of managing behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs), according to the results of a survey of utility decision-makers published Feb. 15. A study of 100 leaders from utilities in the U.S. and Canada, commissioned by Siemens and done in partnership with Oxford Economics, found that “limited […]

With states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Hawaii beginning to execute their National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula program plans, utilities within these states are rapidly coordinating the electrical power requirements needed to support these public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The influence of utilities on power infrastructure, including grid modernization, capacity growth, and energy management, […]

Fifty-eight projects spearheaded by major U.S. power stakeholders will receive up to $3.5 billion in federal funding to improve grid flexibility and boost power system resiliency against extreme weather and climate change, the Biden administration announced on Oct. 18. The projects mark the  Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first competitive selections under the Grid Resilience and […]

Climate change is a threat multiplier. Clean-up costs are ballooning and natural disasters are growing more expensive. In 2022 alone there were 18 natural disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage, up from only three events in 1980. These are taking a bigger bite out of the energy sector’s operating costs and profits, […]

Anyone who’s ever made hiring decisions knows the real danger of hiring the wrong person. By some estimates, an unsuitable employee can cost a company as much as $240,000, not to mention the collateral damage inflicted on company morale and reduced productivity and achievement. In a world where every decision impacts the bottom line and […]