Blog

29Jan

NERC Confirms the Crisis

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) latest long-term reliability assessment should be frontpage news. The nation’s supply of power isn’t just in crisis—it’s a rapidly accelerating crisis. The assessment is an urgent plea for emergency action to reinforce the nation’s grid reliability. NERC found that 13 of 23 assessment areas face resource adequacy challenges over […]
26Jan

Thank Heaven for Coal and Sound Energy Policy

The Wall Street Journal hit the nail on the head this weekend in an editorial titled “Thank Heaven for Coal Power in the Cold.” Winter storm Fern has wreaked havoc across a 2,000-mile stretch of the country leaving hundreds of thousands without power. If not for coal generation, it would be millions more. Electricity grids […]
21Jan

The Affordability Crisis Is a Reliability Crisis

Soaring electricity prices have become a top-tier political issue and will remain so through midterms and likely far longer.  That was underscored last week when the Trump administration hosted several state governors from PJM Interconnection territory, the nation’s largest electricity market, to urge the grid operator to hold an emergency capacity auction for data center […]
14Jan

An AI Power Tipping Point

The AI and data center boom is now driving the electricity and affordability crisis. Just this week, President Trump took to Truth Social to show he’s focused on the challenge, writing, “I never want Americans to pay higher electricity bills because of data centers.” He added that his team is now working with technology companies […]
08Jan

A New Record

Despite years of forecasts of imminent decline, coal demand keeps growing. While the final numbers aren’t in, the International Energy Agency (IEA) recently found global coal demand was on track to rise by 0.5% in 2025, reaching a record 8.85 billion tonnes. With energy affordability and security globally paramount, the irreplaceability of coal shouldn’t be that surprising. […]
17Dec

Answering the Grid Reliability Call

Winter’s bite has arrived. Much of the country is already facing a polar blast and regional electricity grids are ramping up generation to meet high demand. Electricity prices in some regions are already soaring. But not everywhere. Notably, there’s a sharp divide emerging on affordability between the grids that have access to coal generation and […]
10Dec

A Coal Salve for Rising Electricity Prices

Energy affordability – particularly electricity affordability – has become a top-tier issue for voters and policymakers. U.S. electricity prices have risen 32% over the past five years and relief – at least immediate relief – is hard to see. Sharply rising power demand and surging natural gas prices are only adding headwinds to an already […]
03Dec

Europe’s Green Pivot is Proving an Affordability Catastrophe

Rising electricity prices in the United States – up about 32% on average over the past five years – have become an important issue for voters. Now imagine if prices had doubled. That’s the incredible reality facing Europe. As The Wall Street Journal reports, European politicians told voters the pivot to renewables would be a win-win, slashing emissions and […]
19Nov

Surging Power Demand Adds to Winter Reliability Woes

New analysis sees U.S. peak power demand jumping a stunning 166 gigawatts (GW) in the next five years. The surge in new demand comes overwhelming from data centers. To put this new demand into perspective, the jump is equivalent to 15 times the peak demand of New York City. The estimate comes from Grid Strategies, […]
12Nov

Another Winter Living on the Edge

The November wind has arrived with winter nipping at its heels. Here in Washington, the mercury dropped below freezing for the first time this fall as snow began to blanket Midwestern states. Right on cue, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) previewed its annual Winter Reliability Assessment. NERC warns region-wide cold snaps – much […]