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Reliability
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has extended four emergency orders to mitigate the risk of blackouts in the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic ahead of extended winter weather.
Disaster Response and Mutual Aid
Santee Cooper personnel are making preparations for the effects anticipated winter weather may have on Santee Cooper’s customers, the South Carolina public power utility said on Jan. 29.
Disaster Response and Mutual Aid
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.
Grid Modernization
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
Environment
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).
Electricity Markets
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.
Reliability
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.
Distributed Energy Resources
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.