Keeping data centers off power bills

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

DATA CENTERS

• Several Midwest states have been early adopters of utility large load tariffs meant to ensure customers like data centers pay for the costs associated with meeting their demand, though progress on how they’re working is mixed. (Canary Media)

• Officials in a small southeastern Kansas city approve $6.6 billion in tax breaks for a proposed $150 billion data center by Dutch company Nebius. (Kansas City Star)

• Tensions grow among North Dakota Republicans over local control and data centers, with a controversial proposal for transmission construction at the center of the dispute. (MPR News)

PIPELINES

• As Enbridge begins construction to reroute Line 5 through northern Wisconsin, the company will pay local law enforcement for riot suits, training, and hours spent policing potential protests. (Grist)

• A South Dakota Senate committee rejects a House-passed proposal to require environmental impact studies for carbon pipelines. (South Dakota Searchlight)

• The South Dakota Senate also rejects legislation that would have asked voters to amend the state constitution to restrict the use of eminent domain. (South Dakota Searchlight)

GRID

• Midwest utilities press federal regulators and the Trump administration to suspend competitive bidding for certain power line projects, arguing a pause is needed to enable faster construction to meet growing demand. (E&E News)

• Iowa House lawmakers advance a series of bills to create more landowner protections during transmission line construction, such as requiring line owners to repair land after projects are built. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

CORRUPTION TRIAL

• A 2023 deposition of former FirstEnergy lobbyist Mike Dowling shown to jurors last week was the first substantive comments he has made since being charged with bribing a former consultant and utility regulator for favorable legislation. (Signal Ohio)

RENEWABLES

• In western Kansas, some local leaders say renewable energy development will be an economic driver in a region region long dependent on agriculture. (Topeka Capital-Journal)

UTILITIES

• Illinois consumer advocates want the Chicago city council to put pressure on state regulators to reject a proposed $202 million rate hike from gas utility Peoples Gas. (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Organizers look to collect 5,000 signatures to support a November ballot question asking Ann Arbor, Michigan, voters to form a municipal utility and take the city’s grid ownership from DTE Energy. (Planet Detroit)

• AES, the parent company of utilities in Indiana and Ohio, agrees to sell to a private equity-backed group of investors in a $33 billion deal that executives say will drive investments in grid infrastructure. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

HYDROELECTRIC

• Consumers Energy says it is unwilling to negotiate the terms of a plan to sell 13 outdated Michigan hydroelectric dams to a private equity amid calls from critics seeking assurances that the facilities wouldn’t be removed. (Bridge)

CARBON CAPTURE

• The U.S. EPA approves a permit for an underground carbon storage site at an Indiana ethanol plant. (WISH)