Load Management, Efficiency & Demand Response

  • An aerial view of a cluster of large data centers.
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    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
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    Data centers seek flexible power solutions for resilience, sustainability

    Flexible battery- or generator-based solutions can help data centers power up faster, reduce grid impacts and keep their owners’ sustainability goals within reach, experts say.

    By Brian Martucci • July 25, 2025
  • A view of a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) electrical substation with a model power plug on the side of the building.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    US electricity demand to grow 2.5% annually through 2035: BofA Institute

    Building electrification, data centers, industrial growth and electric vehicles are among the factors contributing to growth, according to the prediction.

    By • July 24, 2025
  • Major Cluster Of Data Centers Inhabit Northern Virginia Explore the Trendline➔
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    Nathan Howard/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Electricity Supply and Demand

    After nearly two decades of flat demand, U.S. electricity consumption reached an all-time high in 2024 and is expected to continue rising. This trendline brings together the best of Utility Dive’s coverage of emerging trends in supply and demand and the decisions being made today that will impact the power system for years to come. 

    By Utility Dive staff
  • An aerial view of a large data center next to a home
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    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
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    Microgrid ‘energy parks’ could ease strain from rising power demand, report says

    Several such sites are already in the works, including the $1 billion Meitner Project in Texas, which is developing wind, solar and hydrogen resources.

    By • July 23, 2025
  • Wawa charging bays EVs
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    Provided by Hyundai Motor Co. 

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    Ionna tops 3K contracted battery charging bays with new partnership

    The Wawa convenience store chain is the latest company to join the automaker-led joint venture aimed at expanding EV charging infrastructure.

    By Larry Avila • July 22, 2025
  • Aerial view of a data center under construction in Ashburn, Va.
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    Gerville via Getty Images
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    Texas must balance speedy data center buildout with risk of stranded costs: stakeholders

    All loads should pay for a portion of transmission, “regardless of whether they're co-located or have behind the meter generation,” said Clif Lange, general manager of South Texas Electric Cooperative.

    By • July 22, 2025
  • A facade of a Schneider Electric building.
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    Permission granted by Schneider Electric
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    Schneider Electric launches platform to boost supply chain decarbonization

    The new Zeigo Hub will allow companies to engage suppliers of all sizes, track and manage emissions, and accelerate progress toward their net-zero goals, the company said.

    By Zoya Mirza • July 18, 2025
  • A person on a park bench fans themselves while another lies down.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Virtual power plants helped save the grid during heat dome

    It costs far less — and takes less time — to aggregate existing customer-sited resources than it does to build new dispatchable generation or storage. “Light bulbs are starting to go off,” said one expert.

    By Brian Martucci • July 16, 2025
  • A yellow electric school bus seen from the front
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    So you’re thinking about buying an electric school bus

    From working with a utility to choosing a charger, five insights to improve the decision-making.

    By Linda Margison, Ryan Henderson and Linda Stevens • July 16, 2025
  • Georgia Power's Plant Bowen units during a period of inactivity.
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    The image by Sam Nash is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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    Georgia Power’s new IRP keeps coal plants online to serve data centers

    The integrated resource plan approved by regulators on Tuesday also calls for up to 4,000 MW of renewable resources by 2035 and more than 1,500 MW of storage.

    By • July 16, 2025
  • The Google Cloud pavilion stands at the 2025 Hannover Messe industrial trade fair on March 31, 2025 in Hanover, Germany.
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    Sean Gallup / Staff via Getty Images
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    Google Cloud to pour more than $25B into AI infrastructure across PJM

    The investment will expand the hyperscaler’s data center footprint across the largest U.S. power grid over the next two years.

    By Matt Ashare • July 15, 2025
  • A row of electric utility meters on a wall.
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    onurdongel via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Ignoring customers is unsustainable and bad policy

    Enabling flexible customer demand can drive significant system-wide benefits while mitigating the cost or timing of expensive system upgrades.

    By Kent Chandler, Chris Villarreal and Michael Giberson • July 11, 2025
  • A large data center seen from above
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    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
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    Ohio regulators approve AEP data center interconnection rules

    The Ohio PUC ordered the utility to file updated tariffs and lift a moratorium on connecting new data centers as soon as possible.

    By • July 10, 2025
  • A data processing and storage center.
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    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
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    There aren’t enough AI chips to support data center projections, report says

    High-end forecasts are “not credible,” according to London Economics International, which called its report a “sanity check” on demand growth projections. 

    By • July 9, 2025
  • Two little girls draw on a table with a candle during a power outage
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    Marizza via Getty Images
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    Load growth, plant retirements could drive 100x increase in blackouts by 2030: DOE

    The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday published a methodology for assessing grid reliability, but clean energy advocates say it likely exaggerates the risks of blackouts.

    By • July 8, 2025
  • An entrance to a Madison Avenue JPMorgan Chase building is shown, with revolving doors and a person walking in the foreground.
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    Michael M. Santiago / Staff via Getty Images
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    JPMorgan launches carbon market blockchain app

    In a bid to boost data standardization and transparency, the bank is working with three global carbon registries to test the viability of tokenizing the voluntary carbon market.

    By Lamar Johnson • July 7, 2025
  • Stoplights and street between two tall buildings with more tall buildings in the background.
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    peeterv via Getty Images
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    Cities can decarbonize buildings while cutting costs, new road map says

    The guide from Climate Mayors and Veolia aims to help cities tackle one of their biggest greenhouse gas emissions challenges, even as federal support for energy efficiency and decarbonization shrinks.

    By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • July 7, 2025
  • A group of people leaning on a work desk with work related papers and a desktop computer at the end of the table.
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    Ralf Hahn/iStock by Getty Images

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    Sponsored by KUBRA

    Transforming utility customer journeys through modern user interfaces

    The invisible power of modern interfaces to transform digital tools into human-first experiences.

    By KUBRA • July 7, 2025
  • An aerial view of houses topped with solar panels
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    California budget leaves grid reliability programs in limbo, advocates say

    State legislators and the governor deferred decisions about the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and voter-approved climate bonds to later in the year.

    By • July 2, 2025
  • A home battery system is installed by Base Power.
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    Permission granted by Base Power
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    Base Power, GVEC partner on 2-MW Texas VPP

    Batteries will provide residential customers with power if there is a blackout while allowing GVEC to offer ancillary services and manage transmission costs.

    By • July 2, 2025
  • Cornell University's Agricultural Experiment Station, or AgriTech, campus with greenhouses.
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    Retrieved from New York State Energy Research & Development Authority on June 26, 2025
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    New York offering up to $750K for facility decarbonization projects

    The Large-Scale Thermal program is accepting applications through July 31 for heating, cooling and hot water systems in single buildings of at least 100,000 square feet or campuses of 250,000 square feet and up.

    By Brian Martucci • June 26, 2025
  • Image of Meta's Fort Worth, Texas, data center
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    Courtesy of DPR Construction
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    Texas law gives grid operator power to disconnect data centers during crisis

    The new law pairs mandatory curtailment with a voluntary demand response procurement program.

    By Brian Martucci • June 25, 2025
  • Solar panels on a warehouse.
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    Bilanol via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Behind-the-meter flexibility is the best response to investment uncertainty

    Utilities investing in behind-the-meter flexibility are positioning themselves to continue delivering clean, affordable and reliable energy to ratepayers in the long run.

    By Molly Podolefsky • June 23, 2025
  • Row of modern fuel cell systems installed in outdoors.
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    Permission granted by Bloom Energy
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    Sponsored by Bloom Energy

    7 ways fuel cells future-proof utility energy strategies

    Increasing AI workloads are intensifying pressure on utilities to deliver more than raw capacity.

    June 23, 2025
  • Energy Star, FY 2026 federal budget
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    How the potential end of Energy Star could affect apartment operators

    The program is widely used across the industry, and its demise could lead to a massive disruption in operations, according to experts.

    By Mary Salmonsen • June 20, 2025
  • A sunny San Antonio, Texas skyline with several very tall buildings in frame.
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    Hal Bergman via Getty Images
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    CenterPoint sends mobile generators to San Antonio to support Texas grid

    “CenterPoint will receive no revenue or profit from the 15 large units based on the agreement,” the utility said Monday.

    By • June 20, 2025