The details: The T&D and storage sectors saw a 2% employment boost between 2024-2025—this increase “significantly outpaced the national average,” according to the DOE’s 2026 United States Energy & Employment Report (USEER). The drivers? Utility investment and rising power demand. Nearly half of this growth occurred in natural gas T&D. 

On the generation side: The electric generation sector lost around 15K workers (a 2% decrease) over the same period. Here, the specific trends reflect White House priorities: The nuclear and coal workforces grew by 4% and 5%, while solar and wind fell by 3% and 2%.

The money: Annual median salaries in TDS and electric power generation were 28% and 37% higher than the 2025 US median salary ($51K).

The gaps: The report pointed to “particularly high shortages in electrically skilled occupations” amid the data center boom, along with natural gas T&D, battery storage, and power plant construction and repair. But…around 70% of employers in the TDS and electric power generation sectors said they had trouble hiring—especially for management positions.

Awkward: As we covered, VA recently ordered data centers to pay for their own transmission infrastructure. Now, Microsoft has filed a (vague) appeal against these rules with the state’s Supreme Court.

The argument: The tech giant has claimed that VA’s decision could hinder federal efforts along the same lines. Last week, Microsoft said it wants to ensure that these requirements “appropriately” apply “cost-causation principles,” the Financial Times reported…but the company hasn’t pinpointed specific issues with the rules. 

Mixed messages: In March, Microsoft signed President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, voluntarily agreeing not to raise people’s power bills. 

The proposed rules: Before large loads (75MW or greater) can be considered for interconnection, they would have to hand over a whole laundry list of info, including: 1) whether they’re pursuing similar requests elsewhere and 2) their plans to procure power (onsite or via ERCOT). Officials also want to require plenty of collateral: $50K/MW of the requested peak demand.

Zoom out: ERCOT is now considering some 470 GW in interconnection requests, the vast majority from data centers. This prompted Gov. Greg Abbott to lay down the law in early August—he directed ERCOT and the TX PUC to audit all data centers in the queue. Now, these draft rules reflect Abbott’s relatively quick switch-up on hyperscalers.

The power crunch: Grid management in a rural community like Cordova, Alaska is tough—you can only reach it by air or water. Yet Cordova’s electric co-op has weathered disaster, reached 75% hydro capacity, and even incorporated a data center…while keeping rates relatively low.

The lesson for other utilities? Necessity breeds creativity—but power pros don’t need the same constraints to get innovative. Orgs can take incremental steps toward the grid of the future, Peter Asmus, author of a new book on Alaskan microgrids, told us.

The mega-plant is set to land near Pittsburgh in Fayette County, and will include three combined-cycle facilities. It’s expected to hit the strained PJM grid in phases from 2030-2032.

Where’s all that cash coming from? “This project is fully funded by President Trump’s trade deal with Japan to support new power generation,” wrote Fayette County Commissioner Scott Dunn on LinkedIn. “Your electric bills are not paying for this.”

While we’re on mega-deals: Singaporean manufacturing firm Flex is reportedly paying $4.4B to acquire EPC Power, a California-based company that makes power conversion equipment for data centers, storage, and microgrids. Clearly, US-manufactured electric infrastructure now comes with a major premium as the White House cracks down on tech imports.