The summer of 2026 tested the U.S. electric grid with record heat and rising demand. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor (based on Form EIA-930 data), three major regional transmission organizations (RTOs) set new peak hourly load records.Eia PJM (serving roughly 65–67 million people across all or parts of 13 […]
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If you live in one of the 13 states or D.C. served by PJM, data centers are already on your power bill. The grid’s own market monitor puts their added capacity cost at $29.4 billion over four auctions. On Friday evening, federal regulators threw out most of PJM’s plan to make new data centers bring […]
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The President signed the refining authority in April, and $1 billion has moved to the Energy Department. But ENB found no refinery award; most of the law expires Dec. 11, and the first big new refinery since 1977 is not due until 2028-29. The barrels that could come fastest are restarts and a wider shipping […]
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Heating oil opened the season at $6.04 a gallon, a record in EIA’s weekly data and 70% above last fall. The government expects oil-heated homes to spend 21% more this winter; the state energy-aid directors say closer to 50%. What is driving it, who gets hit hardest, where to find help, and what could still […]
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Welcome back to the Energy Newsbeat podcast. Today, we’re diving deep into one of the most critical—and misunderstood—issues facing America’s energy future. Most people think the grid is just the wires and power plants they see. But what if I told you two grids are operating at the same time, and they’re increasingly working against […]
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TC Energy’s Columbia Gas Transmission (TCO) declared force majeure Thursday after an unexpected mechanical issue on the Mountaineer XPress (MXP) system forced an immediate pressure reduction on Line 100 between the Mt. Olive Compressor Station in Jackson County and the Saunders Creek Regulator Station in Cabell County, West Virginia. The restriction takes the MXPSEG MA42 […]
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A diesel export ban is the kind of policy that polls well and trades poorly. With the AAA national average at about $6.53 a gallon as of September 22, 2026 — a record — and California well above $8, the political impulse is obvious: keep more barrels at home. That impulse misunderstands how U.S. refining […]
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The United States is not short of crude oil. It is short of spare refining capacity, spare distillate inventory, and spare time. Diesel is the pressure point. National retail diesel is printing all-time highs near $6.40 a gallon. California is above $8.30. Midwest pump prices are breaking state records after ExxonMobil’s Joliet refinery in Illinois […]
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New Jersey just made plug-in solar panels legal. No roof required. For renters, condo owners, and anyone whose roof is shaded, leased, or owned by someone else, that is not a slogan. It is a change in the rules.solarpowerworldonline.com On September 1, 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the Garden State Balcony Solar Act (S2368/A4836, now […]
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As electricity demand surges from electrification, data centers, and extreme weather, utilities and regulators are turning to customer-owned resources—electric vehicles (EVs) and home battery storage—to balance the grid. This involves “load balancing” or demand flexibility: shifting or reducing consumption (or discharging stored energy) during peak times, often through virtual power plants (VPPs) or demand response […]
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