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Amid demand crunch, PJM proposes shakeup

By Mason Adams

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This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Southeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

GRID

  • PJM Interconnection releases a whitepaper that envisions a total revamp of its design and mission as it faces increasing pressure from political leaders over rising prices and a power supply crunch. (E&E News, Utility Dive)

  • American Electric Power’s CEO floats the idea of leaving PJM Interconnection and the Southwest Power Pool due to their slow pace of adding new generation. (Utility Dive)

  • Texas regulators outline a proposal to require data centers and other large power users to pay a minimum amount for grid costs. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

  • Rivian says it’s working on more variants of its smaller, more affordable R2 EVs at its planned factory in Georgia. (Reuters)

SOLAR

  • Houston-based SEG Solar announces plans to build a 4 GW solar module factory in Texas. (PV Magazine, news release)

  • North Carolina environmental groups push back on state regulators’ order for Duke Energy to pause development of new solar projects. (WFAE)

NUCLEAR

  • The Tennessee Valley Authority’s nuclear plants provided 41% of the utility’s power needs in the first half of fiscal year 2026, up from 31% during the same period last year. (Utility Dive)

FOSSIL FUELS

  • The volume of gas generation in Texas’ interconnection queue surpasses wind power for the first time in a decade, largely thanks to an explosion of data center development. (Texas Tribune)

  • Dominion Energy announces plans to build a 3 GW gas-fired power plant in Virginia. (Virginia Mercury, Virginia Business)

PIPELINES

  • North Carolina residents react against Enbridge’s proposal to build a 28-mile pipeline to expand its gas infrastructure in the state. (Inside Climate News)

  • A pipeline connecting the Permian Basin to Houston returns to full operations after an outage due to a leak. (Reuters)

UTILITIES

  • Dominion Energy eyes rate hikes in Virginia due to rising prices for imported power and natural gas, although the size of the increase will depend on whether Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs a contentious bill that allows utilities to finance costs over time. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Cardinal News)

DATA CENTERS

  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a bill requiring data centers to pay their own utility service costs and prevent them from shifting the bill to ratepayers. (E&E News)

  • Northampton County, North Carolina’s county board approves a 32-month pause on data centers after residents push for a longer moratorium than a previously planned 12-month ban. (North Carolina Health News)

  • Duke Energy officials say the company has signed 2.7 GW in new agreements with data centers since February. (Utility Dive)

POLITICS

  • Texas Republicans are squeezed as the White House encourages the development of more data centers, which largely have been proposed in GOP-heavy rural counties but are unpopular among local residents. (Texas Tribune)

  • Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Casar files legislation to cap utilities’ profit margins and limit how they can spend ratepayers’ money as part of an ​“affordability agenda” that seems unlikely to pass but could provide Democrats a campaign blueprint headed into the midterm elections. (Texas Tribune)

COMMENTARY

  • Demonstration projects allowing cattle to graze among solar panels could spread solar technology across Virginia and provide a lifeline for rural communities, writes an energy columnist. (Virginia Mercury)

  • Rising energy costs have become a barrier to entry and to scale for entrepreneurs and small businesses in Virginia, writes the president and CEO of the Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce. (Cardinal News)

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