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What Does the $16 Billion PJM Capacity Auction Tell Us? On July 14, PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. regional transmission organization (RTO), held its annual capacity auction to ensure that it has enough reliable back-up power for the 12 months beginning mid-2028. The results showed again that the PJM region, like the rest of America, needs more… Continue reading Issue No. 62

What’s the Future for Natural Gas Generation of Electricity? In 1990, natural gas was a minor source of electricity generation, outstripped four-to-one by coal and far behind nuclear power. Today, gas accounts for about 40% of generation, but its share has stagnated lately. This year, the U.S. will add seven times as much capacity from solar as… Continue reading Issue No. 61

Grid Reliability Regulator Issues a Rare ‘Level 3’ Alert, Citing ‘Unprecedented Challenges’ The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), a non-profit regulator whose mission is ensuring the security of the electric grid, issued a rare Level 3 alert – NERC’s highest level – on May 4. The alert occurred as “the grid faces unprecedented challenges from a… Continue reading Issue No. 60

Democratic Governors, Worried About Affordability, Cut Back on Their Climate-Focused Energy Programs Politico on March 30 ran a piece headlined, “The affordability crunch is pushing Democrats to scale back climate ambitions.” Adam Aton and Marie J. French wrote, In a bid to quickly lower electricity costs, a growing number of Democratic-governed states are pulling money away from programs… Continue reading Issue No. 59

Utilities Attempt to Dispute Reports of Rapidly Rising Electricity Rates and Push More Monopoly Power Electric utility prices in the U.S. rose 7.1% in 2025, according to a year-end report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). For residential customers, the increase was 6%, compared with an overall increase in the Consumer Price Index of… Continue reading Issue No. 58