The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved $250 million in fines for FirstEnergy, which comes after a federal investigation in 2020 found the utility had bribed lawmakers to secure a bailout for its nuclear plants.

Duke Energy reported earnings of $1.25/share for the second quarter, and its CEO told analysts the company also came out ahead with state and federal legislation.

The PUCO ruling seeks to ensure that other ratepayers are not stuck with paying for infrastructure upgrades made to accommodate data center power demand that does not materialize as requested.

Ohio's governor signed into law a major reform of how the state regulates utilities, eliminating electric security plans that utilities have used to meet demand from non-shopping customers since a 2008 law authorized them.

Several state consumer advocates filed a complaint at FERC alleging PJM’s capacity market is failing to mitigate market power, overestimating future load and producing high clearing prices that generation owners cannot act on. 

Newly minted American Electric Power CEO Bill Fehrman is promising to “embrace large load opportunities,” leverage its expertise in 765-kV transmission and deliver more positive regulatory outcomes.

AEP Ohio submitted a settlement agreement that would provide a buffer on the cost risks of building infrastructure to serve future data centers that may not use as much electricity as they initially propose.

AEP Ohio is asking state regulators to create new tariffs that would force data center developers to pay for 90 to 95% of their projected electrical demand for their first 10 years of operation, even if they use less.