North America
Where demand growth arrived first. Connection queues measured in gigawatts, capacity auctions clearing at their price caps, and a rulebook being rewritten around data centres.
State of play
AI is both the grid's biggest new problem and one of its most promising tools. AI data centres drove a 50% surge in electricity consumption in 2025 and are triggering a gas-plant buildout that could lift US power sector emissions by up to a third. The same technology is also cutting curtailment and improving dispatch. Grid professionals need both sides of the ledger.
Latest from North America
Every beat →
StorageFoss & Company closes $58 million tax equity deal for GridStor's 150 MW Gunnar BESS in Texas
Foss & Company closed a $58 million partnership flip on 7 October 2026 to finance GridStor's 150 MW / 300 MWh Gunnar Reliability Project in Hidalgo County, Texas, due in service this month.
14 Oct 2026
GridFERC approves Duke Energy Carolinas' large-load transmission rules on a 4-1 vote, with three commissioners calling for further reform
FERC approved Duke Energy Carolinas' large-load tariff rules on 9 October 2026, requiring a 75% committed revenue contribution over 15 years - but commissioners say the floor may be too low.
14 Oct 2026
GridVirginia ratepayers dominate Fairfax hearing on $67 billion Dominion-NextEra merger
At a 9 October SCC public hearing in Fairfax County, officials and residents overwhelmingly opposed the $67 billion merger, citing rate hikes and data center cost allocation.
14 Oct 2026
GridPG&E warns up to 70,000 customers face a second PSPS event within a week as offshore winds return to Northern California
PG&E has expanded a new PSPS warning to 70,000 customers across 29 counties, beginning 15 October, just days after restoring power from a prior shutoff affecting 10,400.
14 Oct 2026
Markets & PolicyFirst U.S. study of real commercial kitchens finds gas and propane appliances push NO₂ above EPA limits in 70% of sites
A peer-reviewed study published 6 October 2026 in Environmental Research Letters finds gas and propane commercial kitchens routinely exceed EPA nitrogen dioxide limits, while all-electric kitchens do not.
13 Oct 2026
GridSenate permitting bill splits clean energy builders from green groups over fossil fuel trade-offs
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 would overhaul NEPA reviews, expand FERC transmission siting, and force data centers to pay grid upgrade costs - but more than 200 environmental groups want it killed.
13 Oct 2026
NuclearWest Virginia withdraws from DOE nuclear campus program after misreading the spent-fuel requirement
West Virginia sent a withdrawal letter to DOE on 30 September 2026, cancelling its bid to become the sixth Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus host after state officials realised spent-fuel storage was mandatory.
13 Oct 2026
GridRegulators push utilities to connect inspection data to risk models, not just file it
State commissions from Hawaii to Texas now want inspection findings fed into risk and ignition models. A new Utility Dive analysis shows what that shift looks like in practice.
13 Oct 2026
Markets & PolicyRoanoke City Public Schools to install Virginia's first school-district solar-battery microgrids, backed by $2.55 million in state and private funding
Roanoke City Public Schools will add 2 MW of solar and 8 MWh of battery storage across its two high schools - Virginia's first solar-battery microgrids at a K-12 district.
9 Sept 2026
RenewablesGlobal Wind Service opens a Canadian business unit, extending its North American footprint nine years after entering the US
Global Wind Service is establishing a local business unit in Canada, building on a US presence it has held since 2017 and a project track record spanning more than 40 countries.
9 Sept 2026
GridEnerNex says conventional interconnection studies are no longer sufficient for AI mega-campus loads
EnerNex argues that AI training campuses reaching 1,000 MW or more have outgrown traditional power-flow studies, as NERC's May 2026 reliability guideline and a Level 3 alert push EMT analysis to the fore.
9 Sept 2026
The Daily BriefThe Daily Baseload Brief
ERCOT targets December for data center audit completion; Ørsted CEO says US portfolio was a net negative; Bulgaria adds 1 GW of BESS in a month. Power sector digest for 22 August 2026.
22 Aug 2026