Today's issue is about the AI grid buildout entering its ratepayer-and-right-of-way phase. NextEra is buying Dominion, putting Northern Virginia data-center load at the center of the utility M&A map. Virginia is asking regulators to wall off data-center costs. NRG is pitching hyperscalers on bring-your-own-power. Meanwhile, 765-kV lines in Virginia and Texas, a California desert powerlink, and Kansas data-center meetings show the same thing happening on the ground: demand growth is no longer abstract. It is a fight over bills, land, water, permits, and who gets to decide.
Top Stories
NEXTERA TO BUY DOMINION IN AI POWER PLAY
CNBC
NextEra Energy will buy Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal that combines the biggest U.S. renewables developer with the utility serving Northern Virginia, the world's largest data-center market.
EIGHT VIRGINIA COUNTIES LINE UP AGAINST VALLEY LINK
Cville Right Now
Eight of nine potentially affected counties now oppose the 115-mile, 765-kV Valley Link transmission project, with Buckingham County adding $250,000 to the regional fight.
NRG CEO PITCHES BRING-YOUR-OWN-POWER FOR AI
Fortune
New CEO Robert Gaudette is leaning into gas plants for hyperscalers while also selling virtual power plants and demand response as a way to ease peak demand and affordability pressure.
OHIO DEBATES UTILITY-OWNED NUCLEAR AGAIN
cleveland.com
A proposed bill would let Ohio utilities own nuclear plants under certain conditions, reviving the fight over whether customers should carry project risk after the FirstEnergy House Bill 6 scandal.
THE RACE TO MAKE NUCLEAR FUEL IN AMERICA
E&E News
The domestic nuclear buildout is running into fuel-supply gaps as policymakers and companies try to rebuild U.S. enrichment and advanced-fuel capacity.
Power & Grid
TEXAS 765-KV LINE DRAWS LANDOWNER AND LEGISLATOR PUSHBACK
Temple Daily Telegram
The Bell County East-Big Hill 765-kV project — targeted for service by summer 2030 — is drawing opposition from landowners and state legislators over route impacts, property rights, and whether another massive line solves the real reliability problem.
CALIFORNIA POWER LINE WOULD CROSS ANZA-BORREGO
Los Angeles Times
SDG&E's proposed $2.3 billion Golden Pacific Powerlink would move Imperial Valley clean power toward coastal load, but critics say the 500-kV route would scar California's largest state park.
OLD OIL WELLS GET A GEOTHERMAL SECOND LOOK
Wired
States including Oklahoma, New Mexico, Alabama, North Dakota, and Colorado are exploring whether orphaned or inactive oil and gas wells can be repurposed for geothermal energy or storage.
OUTSIDE MONEY ENTERS ALABAMA UTILITY-RATE RACES
AL.com
Two Alabama Public Service Commission seats are drawing out-of-state PAC money as high power bills turn utility regulation into a live statewide political fight.
NEW MEXICO LAND RACE DRAWS RENEWABLES MONEY
Source New Mexico
A renewable-energy super PAC is backing Rayellen Sanchez in the land commissioner race, a reminder that siting authority and public land decisions are becoming central to the power buildout.
Data Centers
VIRGINIA HANDS DATA-CENTER COST FIGHT TO REGULATORS
Virginia Mercury
Virginia's governor signed Dominion-backed bills that push the next big question to the State Corporation Commission: how to keep data-center generation and distribution costs off residential customers.
KANSAS DATA-CENTER MEETINGS PACK THE ROOM
KCUR
After Kansas offered a 20-year sales-tax exemption for data centers, residents are crowding local meetings with concerns about water, farmland, tax benefits, and industrial development on fragile land.
DATA-CENTER INDUSTRY PUSHES BACK ON COST CLAIMS
Axios
The industry is trying to counter the growing political argument that ordinary customers are subsidizing data-center load growth through higher grid and power costs.
NEW JERSEY GROUPS DEMAND AI DATA-CENTER PAUSE
NJ.com
More than 60 groups are asking Gov. Mikie Sherrill to pause large AI data-center projects until stronger rules are in place, citing electric bills, water, noise, and community impacts.
TEXAS NUCLEAR BOOM RUNS INTO WORKFORCE GAP
Austin American-Statesman
Texas is looking to nuclear power as data centers drive electricity demand, but industry leaders say the state needs workers fast if small reactors and new nuclear projects are going to move from plan to buildout.
Stat of the Day
8 of 9
Potentially affected counties now formally opposing the 115-mile Valley Link transmission project
Cville Right Now reports the opposition is concentrating quickly, with Buckingham County adding $250,000 to the regional legal fight as the Dominion-backed line moves toward review.
Cville Right Now report ↗