With data centers already causing “major disturbances” on the grid, the industry could learn lessons from the recent growth and implementation of IBRs, according to a new Elevate Energy Consulting study.

BPA has temporarily paused certain transmission planning processes to consider new reforms in light of “exponential growth” of transmission service requests, staff told stakeholders during a workshop.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an executive order to create a team that will explore the impact of data center growth on the Evergreen State.

NERC's monthly spreadsheet notice of penalty listed 22 infringements of facility ratings standards across multiple regions.

Stakeholders said they are inching closer to developing the scenarios that will inform the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition’s transmission planning study.

A WECC report predicts annual demand in the Western Interconnection will grow from 942 TWh in 2025 to 1,134 TWh in 2034, although it says the region should have the resources necessary to meet that load.

BPA hit all its reliability goals in fiscal year 2024 despite massive wildfires, peak load records and public safety power shutoffs, according to agency staff.

NERC’s 2025 budget is set to rise 8.2% over the previous year to $123 million.

Pairing power-hungry data centers with clean energy resources is sparking mixed feelings among regulators, who say the grid already is straining with increased electrification and connecting new energy sources.

The Western Interconnection will need about 15,600 additional new line miles of high-voltage transmission at a cost of about $75 billion over the next 20 years to meet the anticipated increase in load growth, according to a report commissioned by Gridworks and GridLab.