NYISO Bearish
Software could unlock 10-20% more grid capacity without new wires: OATI
OATI, which handles about 95% of US bulk power transactions, is seeking DOE SPARK funding for PowerNow, a software push it says could free up 10% to 20% more transmission capacity with no new poles or wires. It pairs near-real-time coordination between neighboring grid operators, software-based dynamic line ratings, and AI dispatch of flexible resources, and it has signed on a coalition that includes NYISO, CAISO, SPP, PacifiCorp, Duke and FPL. If it clears bottlenecks, more usable transfer capacity tends to relieve congestion and take some heat out of the peak prices suppliers pay.
Utility Dive · Aug 13, 2026
ERCOT NAT GAS Bullish
Ascend says supply limits will cap ERCOT growth even as Texas sets a new peak
A new Ascend Analytics report says ERCOT peak demand could hit 120 GW by 2030, more than 30% above the 91 GW record set July 22, but well below ERCOT's own forecast because gas turbine shortages, long build times, and interconnection bottlenecks keep new generation from showing up. More than 80% of queued large loads won't have matching generation online by 2030. Ascend sees wholesale prices climbing in the near term as demand outruns supply, with gas plants still setting the price on evening ramps, so suppliers should plan for a firmer ERCOT.
Utility Dive · Aug 12, 2026
PJM Neutral Regulatory
Virginia orders Dominion to bill data centers directly for the lines they need
The Virginia State Corporation Commission ruled July 31 that Dominion must directly assign the cost of substations and transmission lines to the large loads that make them necessary, through a mandatory contribution in aid of construction. The same order cut the proposed monthly transmission increase for a typical home from $2.90 to $0.94. Virginia is the country's biggest data center market and sits inside PJM, so this cost-allocation fight is a bellwether for how much of the buildout lands on everyone else's bill versus the data centers themselves.
Utility Dive · Aug 12, 2026
NAT GAS Bearish
EIA sees record 122.5 Bcf/d of US gas output this year
EIA's August outlook has US marketed gas production averaging a record 122.5 Bcf/d in 2026, up 4% from last year, with the Permian and Haynesville doing most of the lifting. It pegs Henry Hub at $3.44 for the year, down 2%, as all that supply keeps a lid on price. For marketers, record output is the wall the front keeps running into, and Permian associated gas rising with oil drilling means it isn't going away.
EIA Today in Energy · Aug 12, 2026
PJM Neutral Regulatory
PJM weighs ride-through rules after 3.8 GW of data center load tripped offline
After about 3,800 MW of data center load tripped offline in northern Virginia on July 22, the biggest such event in PJM's history, PJM is weighing ride-through standards to keep computational loads from dropping on a normally cleared fault. Staff say data centers are too sensitive to voltage and disconnect too early, swinging generation and load. NERC has a FERC deadline of Dec. 31 to set initial rules for these loads but won't touch ride-through until next year, and PJM wants the rules in place before the load shows up.
Utility Dive · FERC · Aug 12, 2026
NAT GAS Bearish
EIA cuts its Henry Hub outlook to $2.87 on record output and fat storage
EIA's August Short-Term Energy Outlook trimmed its 3Q26 Henry Hub forecast by 50 cents to $2.87/MMBtu, pinning it on record production and softer LNG feedgas demand while Freeport sits down for maintenance into late August. It now sees storage hitting a record 3,985 Bcf by the end of October, about 5% above the five-year average and the fattest cushion heading into winter since 2016. For marketers, that's a lot of gas in the ground and prices stuck under $3 until November, so the front stays heavy.
EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook · Aug 11, 2026
ISO-NE Neutral
ISO-NE's 2026 outlook maps rising demand against a retiring fleet
ISO New England's 2026 Regional Electricity Outlook lays out how the region plans to keep the lights on through fast change: demand climbing on electrification and large loads, aging plants retiring, and more weather-dependent supply filling in. It leans on graphics and plain language, not new market rules. For suppliers it's a useful read on where reliability and energy adequacy risk is heading, even if it doesn't move prices today.
ISO Newswire · Aug 11, 2026
PJM Neutral Regulatory
PJM's data center fix leans on states: bring your own power or get cut off
PJM sent FERC a plan that puts states and utilities in charge of forcing data centers to secure their own capacity or face curtailment before other emergency steps, starting June 2027. A companion reliability backstop auction would backfill the 6.8 GW shortfall from the last capacity auction, though it won't make data centers pay for it. With PJM capacity costs stuck at a record $16.4 billion, this is the operator's attempt to cap cost-shift without picking a jurisdictional fight, and how the states respond will decide whether it holds down what suppliers' customers pay.
Ohio Capital Journal · FERC · Aug 10, 2026
PJM NAT GAS Bullish
PPL-Blackstone venture locks up 5 GW of gas turbines for Pennsylvania data centers
PPL's Blackstone joint venture, Invitium, has reserved more than 5 GW of combined-cycle gas turbines to feed Pennsylvania data centers, on sites that could hold 14 GW. PPL's CEO says bilateral contracts, not PJM's September backstop auction, will be the main way this new generation gets built. More gas-fired load in PJM means more call on gas, so this leans bullish for the molecule.
Utility Dive · Aug 10, 2026
ERCOT NAT GAS Bullish
Vistra backs the Texas data center pause and wants ERCOT's queue culled
Vistra supports Abbott's pause and says its 1.2 GW Comanche Peak deal with Amazon still energizes in 2027. Executives say large-load customers see a rising price environment and want to lock in both energy and capacity, not energy-only. Vistra's generation EBITDA jumped to $994 million on realized prices about 5% higher than a year ago, and it now pegs ERCOT load growth at 4% to 6%.
Utility Dive · Aug 10, 2026
PJM NAT GAS Bullish
Gas takes nearly half of PJM's first reformed interconnection queue
Natural gas leads the first cycle of PJM's new first-ready, first-served study process at 99.8 GW across 147 projects, nearly half of the 201.5 GW that qualified, with storage second at 60 GW. It's a sharp flip from three years ago, when 90% of the queue was solar, wind and storage and most of it never got built. For gas marketers it's a long line of new PJM gas-fired demand getting in position, though PJM's own record shows most queue projects don't get built and turbines and permitting are the real bottlenecks.
Inside Climate News · Aug 8, 2026
ISO-NE Bullish
New England wholesale power prices climbed in June
ISO-NE's monthly report shows wholesale prices rose in both the day-ahead and real-time markets in June, tracking higher demand and firmer gas. It's the kind of month-over-month move that shows up fast in supplier cost stacks. For New England REPs, June's step-up is a reminder that gas-driven price risk didn't go anywhere heading into peak summer.
ISO Newswire · Aug 7, 2026
Bearish
US battery storage hits 52 GW as the buildout keeps running near 70% a year
EIA says utility-scale battery capacity grew about 70% a year over the last three years, reaching 43.6 GW at the end of 2025 and nearly 52 GW by mid-2026, with another 14 GW due by year end. Batteries soak up cheap midday power and dump it back into the peak, which is exactly when prices spike. For suppliers, every gigawatt of storage added is more flexibility shaving the top off peak prices.
EIA Today in Energy · Aug 7, 2026
ERCOT NAT GAS Neutral
Constellation CEO says existing plants, not new builds, carry the early data center load
Dominguez frames the data center buildout as a peak-hour problem to solve with batteries and demand response, not a reason to wait on new plants. He expects ERCOT's soft wholesale prices to firm up once data centers actually show up and the market tightens. Constellation also sold its 606-MW gas-fired Brazos Valley plant in Texas to LS Power for $860 million, a sign buyers still pay up for gas assets.
Utility Dive · Aug 7, 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