Public Power Current

While impacted public power utilities, investor-owned electric companies and electric cooperatives have already restored power to nearly 750,000 customers as of 9:00 a.m. (ET) on Jan. 29 in the wake of Winter Storm Fern, work continues around-the-clock, especially in the communities that saw between 1 and 2 inches of destructive ice accumulations.

Interim PJM Interconnection President and CEO David Mills opened a conversation with stakeholders Jan. 22 about how PJM will approach directives from the PJM Board of Managers, the White House and the 13 governors in the PJM footprint to design and implement a backstop auction in the near term.

In the week ending January 25, 2026, as Winter Storm Fern affected significant portions of the country, coal-fired electricity generation in the Lower 48 states increased 31% from the previous week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Jan. 28.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Jan. 27 issued a decision to allow Vineyard Wind to resume full activities in its lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf.

The U.S. Department of Energy on Jan. 26 issued an emergency order to mitigate blackouts in New York and the surrounding area following Winter Storm Fern.

Public power utilities are continuing to make progress in their power restoration efforts in the wake of Winter Storm Fern.

With travel to Washington, D.C., disrupted because of Winter Storm Fern, the deadline for members of the House to join in signing a letter in support of H.R. 4669, the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025 has been moved to this Friday, January 30. The deadline had been Jan. 27.

Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, a Florida public power utility, has received the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for FPUA’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024.