Utilities

Virtual power plants

Tesla, Sunrun, Renew Home team up on massive 16GW virtual power plant

The clean energy giants are uniting their home batteries and smart thermostats to help tech giants power booming, AI-driven data centers without crushing the grid.

By Jeff St. John . 24 June 2026
Batteries

Tesla offers discounted home batteries in New England VPP push

Households in Massachusetts and Connecticut can get cheap Powerwall leases — so long as they let Tesla monetize the batteries in virtual power plant programs.

By Jeff St. John . 18 June 2026
Transmission

This software firm has a plan to take grid-enhancing tech nationwide

Most U.S. grid operators already use OATI’s software. Now the firm wants to tap AI and data to boost transmission capacity — and it’s asking the DOE for funding.

By Jeff St. John . 10 June 2026
Fossil fuels

North Carolina bill would prop up coal until new nuclear is approved

The Republican-backed House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act, which could rein in some data center costs but extend the life of costly old coal plants.

By Elizabeth Ouzts . 9 June 2026
EV charging

In this house, an EV helps power appliances — and the grid

Can electric vehicles finally start working as backup batteries for homes and the grid? This 120-home pilot project in California is working out the kinks.

By Jeff St. John . 9 June 2026
Batteries

Why North Carolina’s electric co-ops are turning to grid batteries

From the suburbs to the barrier islands, the state’s local cooperatives are using aggregated battery systems to weather outages and protect consumers’ wallets.

By Elizabeth Ouzts . 4 June 2026
Utilities

Utilities aren’t sharing smart meter data in PJM. That’s a problem.

Demand-response companies say utilities in the biggest U.S. energy market are blocking gigawatts of grid relief by withholding data meant to help customers save money.

By Jeff St. John . 4 June 2026
EV charging

In Massachusetts, parked EVs will start feeding the grid this summer

Three electric school buses will kick-start the state’s groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid pilot program once school's out, with more EVs to be added in the coming months.

By Sarah Shemkus . 3 June 2026
Fossil fuels

Indiana coal plant that Trump forced to stay open is not operating

The DOE says the Schahfer plant is key for reliability, but repairs mean it’ll be offline for much of 2026. The grid is set to be just fine without it this summer.

By Kari Lydersen . 1 June 2026
Utilities

Voters in 9 states will pick the people overseeing their power bills

Public utility commissions have a ton of influence over utility rate hikes and power plant construction, but only a handful of states let voters decide who’s on them.

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 29 May 2026