Commission staff recommended authorizing thermal energy network pilot projects and directed either the Energy Commission or the State Corporation Commission to do a statewide landscape analysis; members split over whether the study’s roughly $500,000 cost and added year of delay are justified.

Richland County board members heard an update on Mid-County Grid Solutions' bid to obtain public-utility status — a step that would give the company condemnation authority — and discussed a coordinated, multi-county strategy to consider intervening in the state proceedings.

Commission technical staff and the Office of People's Counsel supported Potomac Edison's revised tariff pages for its grid program surcharge (DRIVE Act implementation); commissioners adopted the filing with staff's recommended nominal rate adjustments and an effective date of Nov. 15, 2026.

Staff reported 96 subject citations issued and set contact dates with outside counsel West and Dunn for December; the committee also heard conference takeaways about regulating large utility projects and a reported increase in permitting activity, including eight new homes in October.

Resolution 2026-31 would suspend for 45 days the effective date proposed by West Texas Gas Utility, LLC (from Dec. 22, 2026 to Feb. 5, 2027) for an application filed on or about Oct. 23, 2026; the council is scheduled to consider the resolution on Nov. 9, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.

The Michigan Public Service Commission unanimously approved a packet of consent orders Nov. 5, including an order in case U-21015 that sets DTE Electric's distribution securitization charge to zero cents per kilowatt‑hour starting with the December 2026 billing cycle.

Staff recommended extending a six‑month moratorium and pursuing ordinance options (CUP, separate district or both) to regulate data centers and other high-utility users; commissioners urged lower megawatt thresholds, financial guarantees for site closures, limits on public funding and public reporting requirements.

Lancaster County supervisors approved a resolution opposing a proposed merger that would combine Dominion Energy with NextEra, with supporters citing monopoly risk and opponents urging caution and regulation rather than categorical opposition.

Taylor Spear, representing the Data Center Coalition, pressed UCA witness Kuykendahl on whether he had provided project‑level analyses showing that the recommended exit fee would cover undepreciated costs; Kuykendahl confirmed no such example was provided.

Dr. Abu Ibrahim, a UCA financial analyst, told commissioners that the utility and staff should run updated analyses before major commitments and that an interim increase to demand charges could be acceptable until project‑specific data allow rate adjustments.

Dr. Abu Ibrahim, a UCA financial analyst, told commissioners that the utility and staff should run updated analyses before major commitments and that an interim increase to demand charges could be acceptable until project‑specific data allow rate adjustments.

UCA witness Kuykendahl recommended exit fees for departing large‑load customers be set at the undepreciated net book value of assets built to serve them, but acknowledged he had not provided a specific commission‑defined methodology or project examples in his testimony.

UCA witness Kuykendahl recommended exit fees for departing large‑load customers be set at the undepreciated net book value of assets built to serve them, but acknowledged he had not provided a specific commission‑defined methodology or project examples in his testimony.

United Power witness Jonathan Aust told the PUC the late-filed settlement clarifies queue priority, study handoffs and reporting between retail and transmission workstreams, including use of the system-impact-study agreement (CISA) and 30-business-day scoping windows to avoid queue jumping and protect United Power's ability to serve its members.

United Power witness Jonathan Aust told the PUC the late-filed settlement clarifies queue priority, study handoffs and reporting between retail and transmission workstreams, including use of the system-impact-study agreement (CISA) and 30-business-day scoping windows to avoid queue jumping and protect United Power's ability to serve its members.

The Commission's 24‑hour signing docket for Oct. 21 included a motion to establish notice requirements in The Empire District Electric Company's rate application, a protective‑order filing tied to a Gigabit Fiber LLC certificate petition, and a final order approving an amendment between AT&T Oklahoma and Airus Inc.

The Joint Committee on Energy was scheduled Oct. 19, 2026 to hear a series of presentations about Act 373 of 2025 (the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act), including an economic analysis of a CWIP provision and potential impacts on commercial, retail, agricultural and cooperative electric customers. Presenters included the Arkansas Public Service Commission, university economists, retailers and utilities.

New Jersey utilities face scrutiny from the state's Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) regarding reports detailing their voting history within the PJM Interconnection. The NJBPU report alleges deficiencies in submissions from Atlantic City Electric (ACE), Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G), and Rockland Electric Company (RECO), raising concerns about

Residents pressed Upper Allen commissioners about a settlement with Veolia tied to a proposed 100-foot water tower adjacent to homes, saying they lacked notice and that the concessions in the township greement may be vague and hard to enforce; the solicitor and commissioners said monitoring and reporting are available but legal authority over a utility is limited.

Public Service Commission to Review Transmission Line Developer’s Utility Application MADISON, Wis. – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has initiated a formal review, including a public hearing, to evaluate whether Midcontinent Grid Solutions Wisconsin, LLC, the developer of the planned 765-kilovolt Bell Center–Columbia–Sugar Creek–Illinois (BECI) transmission line, meets the criteria to operate as an

Speakers told the committee that utility minimum-charge floors (the 'extremely high load factor' tariff) and 15-year commitments can leave local customers paying for decades of infrastructure; they recommended embedded-cost studies, higher minimums, demand-response requirements and first-to-shed rules for generators.