The forecast: Out West, low snowpack plus earlier-than-usual heat are bringing prime conditions for major blazes. This season could start earlier and last longer than average, a PG&E representative told Energy Central.

The new normal: It isn’t just Western states on high watch—wildfire dangers are also intensifying in the South and Midwest. But in states that didn’t historically face high risks, some organizations have made slow progress. In parts of the Midwest, for example, utilities have said they’re “just not that worried,” Skye Perry of FNN, a lightning-detection tech developer, told Energy Central. “But I think they will be worried within the next couple years.”

Catching sparks before they fly: As these hazards rise, it’s increasingly critical to work ahead of the flames. Some utilities are combining AI and high-tech sensors to pick up on risks and alert crews before things escalate.

For example, PG&E’s network of sensors and smart meters has intercepted ignitions in high fire-risk areas and saved some $6M in operational costs. And Florida’s largest utility is using FNN’s lighting-detection tool to get ahead of fires. Last year, it enabled the utility to quickly respond to 430 ignitions, Perry said. To dive deeper into wildfire-fighting tech, listen to our recent Power Perspectives episode.

TX in Texas: Sempra has received ERCOT approval for over $7B in new transmission projects, including lines in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They’ll collectively support >16GW of new demand. Most will likely be built by Oncor (which could become the country’s quickest-growing public transmission ​utility).

And in New England, new transmission projects will reinforce grid reliability this summer, the Northeast Power Coordinating Council said—including the 1.3-GW Champlain Hudson Power Express line that’s now transporting fresh hydro electrons from Canada.

Drillers needed: The DOE wants over 17K US geothermal networks by 2050. But there aren’t enough qualified workers to drill all those boreholes. Now, the nonprofit Home Energy Efficiency Team and the Geothermal Drillers Association want to set up a countrywide network of training centers. The first will arrive in Massachusetts later this year.

Meanwhile, Google is funneling $50M to train 300K US workers in fields including electrical work, welding, and pipefitting (which is convenient timing for the data center and grid buildout).

This includes about $12B in electricity and natural gas costs for households, and $6B in electricity costs for commercial and industrial customers, per a new Corporate Energy Buyers Association analysis. That’s because solar and wind permitting hurdles could inflate electricity and natural gas costs between 2027 and 2033 (especially in ERCOT, where they could rise by around 22%).

The solution, according to CEBA? “Technology-neutral permitting reforms and removing other deployment constraints” for renewables, the organization wrote.

What happened: Following the abrupt closure of the 1.1-GW Rush Island Coal Power Plant in 2024, the cities of Fulton, Marceline, New Madrid, Hannibal, and Kirkwood claim that electricity prices skyrocketed. They paid 191% more than cities in other MISO zones, as alleged by a complaint against Ameren Missouri. The Missouri Public Service Commission will start hearing arguments next week.

While we’re here: The DOE orders to keep aging coal plants online have racked up over $300M in extra expenses for consumers (an increase of over $30M per month).

Trading company Vanguard Energy was prepared to send 250K barrels of sorely needed diesel and gas to Cuba (meant solely for the private sector). The island is suffering from persistent blackouts, and has largely been unable to import fuel since January.