We made it to Friday. Securing the last mile is more important than ever. It’s time to build a clearer understanding of what’s happening between the substation and the meter—and unlock more informed and timely decisions across the grid. Our partners at Wesco have all the details:
— Molly, Carrie, and the Energy Central editorial team
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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is ‘intervening’ in the $67B Dominion-NextEra mega-merger. 👀
She wants in: Spanberger is requesting “to be a party in the case” with the Virginia State Corporation Commission as it mulls over the deal, according to her op-ed published in The Washington Post. Why? “I am seeking to make sure Virginians have a voice in the process,” Spanberger wrote…but she doesn’t intend to make the decision for the agency, she noted.
Zooming out: Virginia’s SCC is one of several agencies currently reviewing the application for the merger, which would form the world’s biggest regulated electric utility (and serve some 10M customers).
The to-do list: Spanberger said she’s taking this “unprecedented” action to lay out her “nonnegotiable” priorities. She thinks the deal must 1) lower Virginians’ energy bills 2) protect utility employees’ jobs and 3) ensure "reliable, local and clean power.”
Should governors get involved in utility mergers?
More offshore wind projects are dead in the water.
The deal: The Trump administration is giving German energy company RWE $1.2B to ditch its wind leases off the coasts of NY, CA, and LA. It’s the fifth agreement of its kind brokered with the federal government this year—these payouts for canceled offshore leases now total nearly $4B.
The reasoning? “There is no path forward to permit these projects in the US for the foreseeable future,” RWE said in a statement. Now, the company will “redeploy its capital” into other US projects, including a $900M investment in LNG infrastructure and $300M for a natural gas turbine order. RWE is planning “at least” 15 natural gas peakers in the US.
Meanwhile, on shore: US District Judge Karin Immergut has directed the Defense Department to resume reviews of wind projects. These stalled assessments imperil around $50B in investments and 150K US jobs, Bloomberg reported.
Exelon says its ‘model’ large-load agreements have saved customers $1B.
How it works: These agreements require large-load customers like data centers to pick up the tab on their “projected transmission service needs” (and prevent cost-shifting to other customers). By inking these agreements, large-load customers commit to upfront revenue contributions.
Gil Quiniones, President and CEO of Exelon subsidiary ComEd, has called these agreements “a model” for the industry. Get Quiniones’s POV on keeping energy affordable while investing in long-term grid solutions.
The grid is changing fast. Register now to learn why the Third Grid is becoming critical to utility operations.
EC’s Matt Chester says recent EV industry strides have supercharged his car-buying experience—and power pros can apply the lessons to grid innovations.
Matt has gone EV-shopping in 2019 and 2026…and he saw plenty of improvements the second time around, including longer battery range and better charging interoperability. But the most important improvements weren't necessarily under the hood—they were in the shopping experience itself.
The takeaway: When it comes to scaling cutting-edge energy innovations (from EVs to VPPs to BESS), he thinks customer experience and communication matter just as much as the tech breakthroughs.
As local wildfire threats intensify, Minnesota and Texas utilities are ramping up mitigation efforts.
In Minnesota: Summer wildfires have increased by 86% over the past three decades. And as in many states, MN utility planning hasn’t kept up with rising fire risks. That’s why the MN PUC has directed the state’s four regulated electric utilities—Dakota Electric Association, Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power Company, and Xcel Energy—to develop and file their first-ever wildfire mitigation plans by Feb. 1, 2027.
All hands on deck: MN utilities have previously lumped in wildfire prep with other distribution planning, but “rising wildfire risk now demands a clearer and more transparent approach,” the PUC wrote. New plans must include updated risk maps and data on the effectiveness of current mitigation practices, among other requirements.
And in Texas: After the state experienced its largest-recorded wildfire in 2024, TX passed a bill requiring electric utilities in wildfire risk areas to develop mitigation plans. This week, Xcel subsidiary Southwestern Public Service Company filed its plan with the Texas PUC. The company is proposing measures like “targeted” line undergrounding and AI-enabled cameras to detect fire activity.
House Democrats have accused Energy Sec. Chris Wright of lying to Congress—and want the DOJ to step in.
The backlash: House Democrats Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Gabe Amo (D-RI) claim Wright lied about these motivations when testifying to Congress about the grant terminations. The officials have referred Wright to the DOJ for possible prosecution—but it’s unlikely that’ll pan out, according to The Hill.
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Thanks for reading. TTYL!