ERCOT NAT GAS Bullish
NRG nears a 1.2 GW customer-backed gas plant deal in Texas
NRG says it's close to terms with an unnamed hyperscaler to build a 1.2 GW combined-cycle gas plant in Texas, with the customer backing more than 95% of the cash flow through capacity payments and an option to double it to 2.4 GW. It's a "bring your own power" deal, so the load pays for the new generation instead of leaning on the grid. For suppliers that's customer-funded capacity and headroom in ERCOT, and for gas marketers it's another big block of firm Texas gas demand getting locked in, even with the state's data center pause hanging over the timeline.
Utility Dive · Aug 6, 2026
ERCOT Bearish Regulatory
BNEF: Texas pause puts 20% of the US data center pipeline at delay risk
Bloomberg NEF figures Texas's data center pause puts about 20% of the US project pipeline, roughly 49.8 GW, at risk of delay, with up to $8 billion of data center revenue on the line by early 2027. The audit weeds out speculative load before it hits the grid, and BNEF still sees ERCOT data center capacity topping 17 GW by 2030. For suppliers, slower and better-vetted large-load growth takes some air out of the runaway demand forecasts and protects headroom, even though the real projects still point to a much bigger ERCOT down the road.
Utility Dive · Aug 6, 2026
NAT GAS Neutral
EIA's 33 Bcf build lifts gas storage to 3,117 Bcf
EIA reported a 33 Bcf injection for the week ended July 31, pushing Lower 48 stocks to 3,117 Bcf. That's still about 6% above the five-year average, but the build ran under the normal seasonal pace as heat kept power burn high. For marketers, another lean injection trims the surplus and keeps a floor under the front, even with plenty of gas in the ground.
EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report · Aug 6, 2026
ISO-NE Neutral Regulatory
ISO-NE proposes tweaks to its day-ahead reserves market to cut costs
ISO New England is proposing adjustments to its Day-Ahead Ancillary Services market, the design that pays resources to be on call when the grid gets tight, to make it more cost-effective. The market is meant to lock in reliability by making sure supply shows up on stressed days. For suppliers, how ancillary services clear feeds straight into the cost stack, so it's worth watching what ISO-NE decides to pay for reserves.
ISO Newswire · Aug 6, 2026
ERCOT Bearish Regulatory
Texas hits pause on data centers, orders audit of a 474 GW queue
Gov. Abbott called for an audit of every data center in ERCOT's interconnection queue, which now tops 474 GW, more than five times the state's record peak, with about 90% of the requests coming from data centers. ERCOT delayed its Batch Zero study and will ask the PUCT for a timeline exemption on Aug. 20. For suppliers, weeding out speculative load before it hits the grid takes some air out of the runaway demand forecasts and protects headroom, even if the real projects still point to a much bigger ERCOT down the road.
Utility Dive · Aug 5, 2026
PJM Bearish
PSEG floats data center supply deals in PJM's bilateral process
PSEG's unregulated power arm is pitching several supply proposals in PJM's new bilateral contracting process, matching generation to planned large loads, with first deals possibly announced in August. PJM also trimmed its ComEd zone load forecast by 1.3 GW in 2031 and 3.3 GW in 2034 on a smaller data center pipeline. For suppliers, more generation lining up against large loads and a cooler forecast take some pressure off the capacity-price spiral, though PSEG's last auction still cleared at the cap.
Utility Dive · Aug 5, 2026
NAT GAS NYISO Neutral
US-Canada gas and power trade value rose in 2025 even as total energy trade fell
EIA says the value of natural gas and electricity trade with Canada ticked up in 2025 on higher gas prices and volume, even though total US-Canada energy trade fell 11% to $137 billion. Gas imports from Canada averaged 8.6 Bcf/d, and their value jumped 52% year on year. For marketers and Northeast suppliers, it's a reminder that Canadian gas and the new Champlain Hudson line into New York City still shape prices in the region, and energy trade sits exempt from the latest tariffs.
EIA Today in Energy · Aug 5, 2026
NYISO Neutral Regulatory
New York lawmakers grill utilities over who pays for data center growth
A New York Assembly Energy Committee hearing dug into who should cover the grid upgrades behind AI and crypto data center load, with NYISO's Zach Smith calling the grid at an inflection point and the state possibly short 1,600 MW by 2030. NYISO's interconnection queue holds 36 large-load projects worth more than 10,000 MW. For suppliers, a proposed data center customer class and beneficiary-pays rules could keep big-load costs off residential customers, but nothing's settled and wholesale price risk stays in play.
News10 (Albany) · Aug 5, 2026
NAT GAS Bullish
Southern Co.'s contracted large load climbs to 17 GW
Southern added 6 GW of large-load contracts since Q1 to reach 17 GW, including a 3.2 GW, 25-year Georgia Power deal with OpenAI near Savannah that carries 1 GW of flexible demand response. The company has approval for about 10 GW of new generation, mostly gas, and data center power use jumped 49% year to date. For gas marketers, that's a steady stack of new Southeast gas-fired demand getting locked in, with more RFP awards due by year end.
Utility Dive · Aug 4, 2026
PJM Bearish Regulatory
New Jersey's battery-eligible VPP program starts to take shape
New Jersey regulators floated a straw proposal for a two-year, technology-neutral virtual power plant program that lets home batteries and other DER stack distribution payments with PJM wholesale market revenue, starting by mid-2027. PSE&G plans a VPP this month paying about $5,000 upfront for an 8-kW home battery in exchange for peak-shaving rights. For suppliers, more batteries and demand response feeding PJM capacity is headroom you can lean on when peaks and prices spike.
Utility Dive · Aug 4, 2026
Bearish Regulatory
Senate bill puts $700M behind microgrids, VPPs, and DER
Sen. Peter Welch introduced the STRONG GRID Act, putting $700 million behind microgrids and distributed energy, a $200 million DOE pilot plus $500 million in state grants, with backing from state energy officials and equipment makers. The bill funds aggregating DER into virtual power plants and shifting load to ease transmission congestion. For suppliers, more federal money behind VPPs and DER means more room to run battery and demand-response programs and free up headroom, though it's a fresh bill with a long path through Congress.
Utility Dive · Aug 4, 2026
ISO-NE Neutral Regulatory
Eversource earnings sink as FERC trims New England transmission returns
Eversource's Q2 income dropped to $53.7 million from $352.7 million a year ago, hit by one-time charges tied to a FERC decision cutting New England transmission ROEs, its Aquarion sale, and cost overruns on the Revolution Wind offshore project. The utility faces up to $968 million in transmission refunds and is contesting the cut. For suppliers, the fight over transmission returns and Eversource's push on a $2.2 billion Maine-to-Massachusetts line will shape delivery costs and congestion in ISO-NE for years.
Utility Dive · Aug 4, 2026 FERC
PJM Neutral
Dominion's Coastal Virginia offshore wind bill climbs to $11.7B on PJM upgrade costs
Dominion now pegs its 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project at $11.7 billion, up about $288 million, and pushed completion to the end of 2027, blaming higher PJM network upgrade charges, April tariffs, and slower turbine installs. The company also flagged its June reentry into the PJM capacity market as a drag on Q2 earnings. For suppliers, the takeaway isn't the wind farm, it's that PJM network upgrade costs keep climbing and feeding into delivery costs, even if Dominion says the project trims customer fuel bills once it's fully online.
Utility Dive · Aug 3, 2026
PJM Bullish Regulatory
PJM files its backstop capacity auction at FERC to plug a 6.8 GW hole
PJM formally asked FERC to run a one-time reliability backstop auction from Sept. 30 to Oct. 21, paying up to $555/MW-day, well above the $325 cap on its last base auction, to secure new supply for data center growth that could add 70 GW by 2038. Costs get allocated to zones and load-serving entities, and PJM says states have to act to keep those costs off regular retail customers. For suppliers, that's real near-term capacity cost risk landing this fall unless states carve out large loads.
Utility Dive · Aug 3, 2026 FERC
PJM NAT GAS Bullish
AEP locks up 13 GW of gas turbines as it races to build generation
AEP has secured about 13 GW of gas turbine capacity deliverable by 2031, plus options on another 10 GW by 2035, from GE Vernova and Mitsubishi, and CEO Bill Fehrman called turbines a scarce resource it'll keep buying aggressively. Its resource plans call for 15.3 GW of new gas by 2035 to serve a 69 GW large-load pipeline. For gas marketers, that's a long line of new gas-fired demand getting locked in across the PJM footprint, and turbines are the bottleneck, not the gas.
Utility Dive · Aug 3, 2026
ERCOT Neutral
EIA confirms ERCOT's record 91 GW peak set on July 22
EIA's grid monitor logged ERCOT's all-time hourly peak at 91.1 GW on July 22, driven by triple-digit heat and fast Texas load growth. Solar and batteries covered the record afternoons and the grid held without emergencies. For suppliers, the grid clearing record demand is reassuring, but load parked at these highs keeps peak-hour price and procurement risk elevated through the rest of summer.
EIA Today in Energy · Aug 3, 2026
PJM Bearish
Exelon's high-probability data center load drops 40% to 11 GW
Exelon said its high-probability data center load fell nearly 40% to about 11 GW in Q2, down from 18 GW at year-end, as it uses transmission security agreements to weed out speculative projects and shield ratepayers. ComEd even canceled an approved deal tied to a 1.8 GW Illinois project. For suppliers, a cooler, more real load forecast in PJM takes some steam out of the capacity-price spiral, even as Exelon warns its last auction cleared at the cap and drew almost no new supply.
Utility Dive · Jul 31, 2026
ISO-NE Neutral
ISO-NE picks a preferred plan to move northern Maine power south
ISO New England selected a preliminary preferred solution to upgrade transmission between northern Maine and the load centers of southern New England. It's an early planning step, but the upgrade would ease congestion that keeps cheaper northern generation, including wind, bottled up in Maine. For suppliers, more deliverable supply reaching southern New England is a long-term plus for congestion cost, though ratepayers will foot the bill for the lines.
ISO Newswire · Jul 31, 2026