Texas ratepayers are on the hook for a $33 billion high-voltage transmission expansion that critics call a classic power grab—funneling guaranteed returns to transmission monopolies, condemning thousands of acres of private land, and primarily enabling more intermittent wind and solar that many of today’s assets won’t economically or physically outlast another decade. The Electric Reliability […]
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Back-to-back heat waves sweeping the United States are pushing electricity grids to a tipping point, as temperatures topping 100°F (38°C) drive households to max out air conditioners while a surge in around-the-clock demand from AI data centers and factories shrinks power reserves and strains decades-old transmission equipment. This is emerging as the new normal for […]
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On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, extreme Texas heat drove air-conditioning demand that pushed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid past 91 gigawatts for the first time. Unofficial real-time figures from ERCOT’s website showed a peak around 91,300 megawatts near 5 p.m. CT, with system-wide demand data indicating highs near 91,089 MW. This shattered […]
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The AI-driven data center boom is reshaping U.S. energy demand, with hyperscalers (Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and others) pouring hundreds of billions into new facilities that require massive, reliable, 24/7 power. Natural gas—via pipelines, turbines, onsite generation, and supporting equipment—is emerging as a critical bridge fuel due to its dispatchability, speed of deployment, and […]
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AUSTIN, Texas — In a decisive move to protect residential electricity ratepayers amid Texas’s explosive data center boom, Governor Greg Abbott today directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to ensure that data centers fully fund their own electric infrastructure costs — preventing any of those […]
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Texas is facing explosive electricity demand growth from the Permian Basin’s oil and gas operations, data centers, manufacturing, and electrification. In response, ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) have fast-tracked the 765-kV Strategic Transmission Expansion Plan (STEP)—including the Permian Basin Reliability Plan (PBRP)—a massive build-out of high-voltage transmission lines designed to import […]
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In rural Texas, a quiet but transformative shift is underway. Developers are increasingly siting massive data centers in unincorporated areas—where county governments have far less regulatory authority than cities—bypassing the kind of local zoning, public hearings, and citizen pushback that could slow or stop projects in more populated zones. This strategy is playing out dramatically […]
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In an era of surging global energy demand driven by AI, manufacturing resurgence, and geopolitical realities, Texas stands as the undisputed leader in American energy production, infrastructure, and innovation. The Lone Star State isn’t just keeping pace—it’s defining the future of reliable, affordable, and dominant energy. From record-breaking oil and gas output to a massive […]
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Lars Schernikau, Author and prior guest on the Energy News Beat nails it. Europe’s electricity grid may be the most complex machine humanity has ever built. Yet energy debates too often reduce the conversation to installed capacity, solar additions, or wind megawatts. This narrow focus misses the real engineering and economic reality. Europe’s electricity grid […]
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The AI boom has supercharged America’s data center industry, turning what was once a steady infrastructure play into one of the fastest-growing drivers of electricity demand in the country. Hyperscalers and AI startups are racing to build massive facilities packed with GPUs that devour power at unprecedented rates. From rural Texas fields to Virginia’s “Data […]
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