Utilities

Fossil fuels

Washington coal plant produces no power but plenty of costs. Who pays?

The Trump administration ordered the last coal plant in Washington to be on standby. Its owner wants utilities to pick up the still-running tab for that.

By Tom Banse . 26 June 2026
Batteries

Base Power brings cheap batteries to residents in power-starved PJM

The unicorn startup launched its first move outside its home state of Texas, pitching low-cost energy and backup power in northern Illinois.

By Julian Spector . 24 June 2026
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