Good morning. The world’s peak soccer competition could soon shift power peaks. As Brits watch late-night World Cup games on their tellies—while brewing a cuppa—they could add some 600 MW of demand to UK grids during oft-quiet hours. ⚽
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— Molly, Carrie, and the Energy Central editorial team
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Transmission bottlenecks may spike PJM power costs by up to $1.5M per hour—on a single line.
Pricey plumbing: That’s the major finding from a new report that Gridraven, a DLR software developer, shared with Energy Central. Congestion costs totaled around $75M across 42 of the RTO’s most crowded lines between late March and early May, the company found. Over this period, total PJM congestion costs exceeded $560M. (To dive in deeper, check out Gridraven’s grid congestion tracker here.)
The limitations: In March, PJM began adopting ambient-adjusted transmission ratings to meet FERC’s Order 881 (well ahead of other RTOs). But AARs don’t paint a full picture, Gridraven’s report noted, as they leave out “the cooling effect of real-time wind speeds.” Plus, software-only DLRs avoid the time (and money) required to install all those AAR sensors.
The fix: Using its DLR tech, Gridraven found an average of 14% untapped capacity on PJM’s clogged lines (which could rack up around $49M in monthly savings throughout the region). “Applying this across the grid would relieve the pressure on ratepayers,” Gridraven CEO Georg Rute told Energy Central over email. “This would give the necessary financial headroom for investing into new transmission lines that are sorely needed.”
FirstEnergy thinks data centers should pay their way onto the grid.
The utility’s ask: FERC should require that data centers cover their needed transmission upgrades (borrowing from the natural gas pipeline playbook). This would save ratepayers from footing those bills. The request comes as FERC prepares new large-load interconnection rules, which the agency plans to act on this month.
Plus, a speed-to-power play: After developing solar for 14 years, Hecate Energy has another idea brewing—transforming into a developer-slash-IPP. The company is considering co-locating some of its solar projects with data centers, offering much-needed quick capacity to hyperscalers.
NV Energy ratepayers could be on the hook for a $500M wildfire insurance policy.
As private insurance prices soar, NV Energy hopes ratepayers can help cover the costs of self-insurance. If Nevada’s PUC approves the request, northern Nevada customers could see a roughly $3 monthly rate increase. These funds would cover claims and liabilities, but not equipment repairs or broader company operations.
Meanwhile, protestors recently criticized NV Energy’s new daily demand charge (slated to go into effect next year), which they said could raise costs for southern Nevada customers.
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Last month, SPP lost a 28-GW chunk of its interconnection queue.
Peace out: 122 projects left the grid operator’s queue in May—that’s nearly half of SPP’s biggest-ever interconnection cluster (mostly consisting of renewable and battery projects). What scared them off? Most likely the Phase 1 interconnection cost estimates, as noted by Interconnection.fyi.
Sticker shock: Many of these projects faced “massive upgrade costs” to help fund new 765-kV transmission lines—SPP assigned the now-withdrawn projects a median cost of $655/kW.
This is the largest geothermal plant design yet.
After Ormat completes its two EGS pilot programs (anticipated to wrap up in 2027), it will begin building the Ormega100—and because the company is fully integrated, Ormat claims it’ll move quicker than most startups.
Qcells will soon singlehandedly double US solar cell manufacturing capacity.
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Rising energy costs are reshaping grid operations. Tune in to hear how utilities and energy users can improve reliability, manage costs, and unlock more value from energy assets in real time.
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