electricity prices

06Aug

J.H. Campbell Comes to the Rescue in MISO

When Secretary of Energy Chris Wright used emergency authority to extend the life of the J.H Campbell coal plant in Michigan at the end of May, the decision was met with a broadside of a criticism. To the anti-coal crowd, the move was a bail out, a solution in search of a problem and a […]
30Jul

“It is actually here now”

“The reliability threat is not on the future horizon,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman (FERC) Mark Christie said last week. “It is actually here now.” Christie, who was overseeing his last FERC meeting before departing the commission, was responding to results from PJM’s recent capacity auction—an auction that for the first time came up short […]
21May

A Demand and Price Shock

As electricity prices continue to rise and grid reliability warnings proliferate, electricity demand projections are only growing more aggressive. A new report from consulting group ICF International sees U.S. electricity demand jumping 25% by 2030 and 78% by 2050 compared to 2023. That surge in demand will have huge impacts on already teetering reliability and […]
07May

Listen to the Capacity Markets

For years, despite ever louder warnings of a rapidly approaching electricity supply shortfall, electricity markets weren’t reflecting impending scarcity. No longer. In both the PJM and Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) capacity markets, prices have exploded—an unmistakable signal to bring more capacity to the market and keep existing resources operating. Last year, capacity payments to […]
15Jan

Britain Reaps What It Sows

Who could have possibly seen this coming? After celebrating the closure of its last coal plant in 2024 with royal fanfare, Britain is finding itself woefully short of power this winter and facing crushing energy costs. Just last week, the British grid came perilously close to rolling blackouts as demand came within inches of eclipsing […]
30Dec

2024 in Review

Happy almost new year! Before we turn the page on 2024, it’s worth looking back on the stories and major developments that shaped – even reshaped – the energy landscape over the past 12 months. Years of warnings about rapidly eroding grid reliability collided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) regulatory agenda and the […]
18Dec

NERC’s Christmas Present: Majority of the Nation Faces Blackout Risks

This should be the nail in the coffin of the Biden administration’s unworkable and downright dangerous regulatory policy undermining the nation’s power supply. According to new analysis from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), more than half of the nation faces blackout risks over the next decade due to capacity shortfalls. While these findings […]
04Dec

Europe’s Masterclass on What Not to Do

The trajectory for the nation’s electricity supply is alarming. Reserve margins are rapidly eroding, power demand is soaring and the price of electricity has jumped nearly 30% since 2019. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency keeping its boot on the neck of the power sector and the Department of the Interior deciding in the 11th hour […]
07Nov

Electricity Inflation at the Ballot Box

Donald Trump’s decisive win in the presidential election appears to have been fueled by broad discontent with the economy and notably inflation. ABC News preliminary exit poll results found that more than two-thirds of voters said the economy is in bad shape and the share of people who said they are worse off under the […]
30Oct

Inheriting an Electricity Affordability Crisis

In March of this year, federal data revealed the rise in electricity prices was far outpacing general inflation. With electricity demand beginning to soar from electrification, and most notably the data center and AI revolution, that trend is only poised to accelerate. According to new analysis from a leading energy consultancy, utilities are now facing […]