U.S. utilities and grid operators are urging households to prepare for tighter electricity supplies, possible rolling blackouts during extreme weather, and new risks from large loads like data centers

Kind of Ironic that we lost power over the holiday and had a great dry run. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. As we had company, a storm rolled in on us, and only 900 people in our county were without power. As you have heard me say, it is better to prepare […]

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Net Zero wanted to shut coal down. Net Zero now extends coal.

Australia’s official grid planner has rewritten the script. The Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2026 Integrated System Plan still describes renewables, storage, transmission and gas backup as the “least-cost” path to 2050. The same documents show coal staying until 2049, wind delivery falling well short of earlier ambition, transmission scaled back after cost blowouts of up […]

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What Is the Reason for the 1000% Increase in Power costs to Consumers?

American electricity customers are facing sticker shock that goes far beyond ordinary inflation. In the nation’s largest grid region, PJM Interconnection—serving 65 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C.—capacity prices have risen from roughly $29 per MW-day in the 2024/2025 auction to $270, then $329–$333 per MW-day in subsequent auctions. That is an increase […]

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Life Will Find Away, and Oil Finds Markets

Welcome to the Energy News Beat podcast, where hosts Stu Turley and Rey Trevino (Pecos Operating) break down nine major stories shaping the global energy landscape. In this episode, they explore how oil and diesel markets are adapting to geopolitical disruptions—from Saudi Arabia’s innovative shuttle tanker routes around the Houthis to China’s strategic pivot toward […]

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White House Declares National Emergency to Secure the U.S. Bulk-Power System – Will We See If Chinese Grid Equipment Is Removed?

President Trump signs Executive Order 14420, targeting foreign-made grid equipment, software, and remote-access gear as electricity demand from AI, manufacturing, and defense rises. President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14420 on August 26, 2026, declaring a national emergency to secure the United States bulk-power system. The order invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act […]

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Iran-Linked Cyberattack Tests Britain’s Energy Defenses. Are There Potential Strikes in the US on the Grid?

An Iran-linked cyberattack shut down a small-scale energy generator in the United Kingdom for four days in July 2026, marking what officials and reports describe as the first successful infiltration of a UK energy facility by Iranian-affiliated hackers. The incident, first detailed by The Telegraph and confirmed by UK authorities, involved no threat to the […]

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What if 9 Substations were Targeted on the US Grid? Would Jon Wellinghoff’s Prediction of an 18-Month US Grid Blackout Happen?

The U.S. power grid faces a long-standing vulnerability that has resurfaced in recent discussions: a coordinated attack on a small number of critical substations could trigger a cascading nationwide blackout lasting months—or longer. This warning, originally highlighted by former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, stems from analysis following the 2013 Metcalf substation […]

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