FERC dismissed Ameren’s bid to gain exclusive rights to build nearly $2 billion of MISO regional transmission projects in the state free of competitors.

State regulators say the push to give FERC jurisdiction over large load interconnections could leave the agency biting off more than it can chew around complex state-run processes, while failing to accomplish the intended goal of speeding approvals of hyperscale data centers.

Ameren Illinois remains adamant that it should have exclusive access to construct nearly $2 billion of MISO regional transmission projects in the state without competition.

MISO and several stakeholders came to the defense of the RTO’s $21.8 billion, 24-project long-range transmission plan portfolio for the Midwest as five Republican states seek to repeal the projects’ approval.

The tone of Infocast’s 2025 Midcontinent Energy Summit was noticeably apprehensive compared with last year, owing to political and regulatory uncertainty, load growth ambiguity, fluctuating tariffs and a pending complaint against MISO’s long-range transmission plan.

Exelon CEO Calvin Butler told investors the utility's data center forecast has increased about 80% during an earnings call.

Exelon is focused on meeting rising demand from data centers and manufacturing, company officials said during its second-quarter earnings call.

DOE awarded $371 million to state regulatory agencies to accelerate transmission permitting and to communities impacted by major interstate projects.

Exelon prioritized improving "our regulatory outlook in Illinois," CEO Calvin Butler said, after the state's Commerce Commission rejected ComEd's integrated grid plan for failing to meet core provisions of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.

A DOE report on resource adequacy says firms investing in natural gas capacity could be retrofitted with carbon capture and storage, or the ability to burn clean hydrogen.