The ruling: Due to Monday’s Supreme Court decision, US presidents can now sack the heads of independent agencies—without having to explain why (except for the Federal Reserve).

The concern: Energy experts think this ruling could impact organizations like FERC and the NRC. They’re worried the White House could sway officials to put politics over technical expertise.

Meanwhile in Congress, the House passed a gaggle of bipartisan bills geared toward grid upgrades and security (both physical and digital).

The numbers: Also in 2025, domestic electricity generation grew by more than 3%, “a marked acceleration relative to its long-term trend,” per the Energy Institute's latest report. This was largely due to rising electrification (and, of course, the influx of data centers).

Plus, a surprising reversal: After coal consumption peaked in 2007, it had been declining consistently since. Last year, that changed: Domestic use of the fossil fuel grew by 13% (the report attributes this to high gas prices). 

What a rollercoaster: In the beginning of the Iran war, oil reached $118/barrel. Now, amid the (shaky) US-Iran ceasefire, Morgan Stanley predicts that Brent crude could average at $75/barrel in Q3 of this year (and $70 in late 2027).

Here we go again: This means we’ll likely return to the oil glut we faced before the war, Morgan Stanley analysts noted.

PJM has issued a hot weather alert for its 13-state region through July 3 (temps are forecast to hover in the 90s for several days). Over this period, peak demand could surpass 166 GW (and blow past the 2006 record of 165 GW). As the heat builds, PJM hopes to order large loads like data centers to run on back-up generators (with FERC permission).

In other grid news: The planned NextEra-Dominion merger keeps catching criticism. The latest naysayer? Sen. Angus King (I-ME) is pushing FERC to reject the deal. He claims that NextEra has a “documented record of using its market position and political resources to suppress competition that threatens its merchant revenues.”

The elephant in the reactor: All the talk about the US nuclear renaissance raises a major issue: Where will the radioactive leftovers go? To help settle that conundrum, the NRC is now moving to revise its rules for low-level nuclear rubbish.

The details: The NRC hopes to lay out “a clear regulatory pathway” for greater-than-Class C waste, including provisions for near-surface disposal. This fits into the DOE’s vision for massive, full-lifecycle nuclear campuses around the country.

The (big) deal: The French company has agreed to sell its subsidiary EDF Power Solutions to PE firm KKR. The reasoning: EDF is raising funds to build six nuclear units in France (and maintain 57 aging reactors), Reuters reported. 

While we’re here: The FCC is drafting a ban on Chinese-made power inverters (on which many US utilities depend). The Trump administration worries China could wield the inverters to control US power supplies—but this move is likely to hinder clean energy deployment. The rule is slated for publication as early as this year.