The details: MISO now sits on more electric supply than any other US grid, knocking PJM off the top rung. At the end of Q1, MISO’s capacity totaled 230 GW…just a smidge higher than PJM’s 227 GW. 🤏

Here comes the solar: That’s thanks to the 7.45 GW of solar added by MISO between April 2024 and March 2026 (most of which landed in Democrat-led Illinois, followed by Republican-led Indiana, Arkansas, and Missouri).

And down in the Sunshine State: Florida Power & Light now operates 120 solar projects across the state, totaling nearly 9 GW (which the company says has saved customers over $1.3B by curbing fuel costs).

The numbers: That’s according to the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative’s survey of over 4K Americans. SECC also found that nearly a third of ratepayers struggled to cover power bills at least once over the past year. 

The takeaway? Affordability solutions, like discounted rates and demand-response programs, should “be tailored to different customer segments,” SECC noted on Energy Central. “A one‑size‑fits‑all approach will leave most customers underserved; providers must utilize multi‑tier strategies that reflect the diverse needs across the residential customer base.”

Meanwhile, 75% of Americans now say they “oppose a new data center being built where they live,” Heatmap found. That’s up from 42% in September 2025.

Status check: Agentic AI is already helping utilities level up operations, including storm response, customer communications, and new load connections, according to our partners at IBM. The tech company has already seen these tools shrink the interconnection process from eight weeks to two. The ultimate goal? A single day, Biren Gandhi, global energy and utilities COE leader at IBM, told us.

The forecast: Over the next five years, IBM expects that AI will enable utilities to share critical, real-time info across the business (while prioritizing human judgement). “I think that the entire workflow is going to be fluid,” Gandhi said.

The collab: In what AEP Ohio calls a first-of-its-kind effort, the utility is partnering with Meta, QTS, Amazon, SoftBank Energy, and Google—each of which have data centers in the Buckeye State. Meta has committed the most cash ($10M spread over five years), followed by QTS ($3M over three years).

Let it out: As we reported last month, PJM is struggling to clear its interconnection queue, align with state officials, and inspire confidence in investors. Now, the org is getting vulnerable: “Our region is falling short of what this moment demands,” PJM wrote in its new five-year plan. “We hear the expectation for PJM’s clear direction and leadership on the grid’s future, which should be informed by the voice of the consumer.”

What’s next: PJM plans to 1) modernize operations, including “enhanced deployments of AI and automation” in the control room 2) advance “urgent” market reforms with states and members 3) speed up transmission and interconnection processes and 4) fix its fraught stakeholder process.

The throughline: State officials and consumer advocates have argued that PJM must affirm its duty to the public interest…and the grid operator is listening. 👂

Consolidated Cooperative is hiring a chief operating officer.

Gainesville Regional Utilities is hiring a water/wastewater supervising engineer.

Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative is hiring a chief executive officer.