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.

Coldwater Board of Public Utilities, a Michigan public power utility, has deployed artificial intelligence to predict and get ahead of grid outages. In an interview with APPA, CBPU Utility Director Paul Jakubczak outlined how AI is allowing the utility prevent service outages, advance grid

The Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 28 issued its proposal to approve interstate transport state implementation plan (SIP) submissions from eight states -- Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, and Tennessee -- for the 2015 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).

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.