Public Power Current

The New York Power Authority was recently named a Best Midsize American Employer by Forbes Magazine.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water is debuting a customer-centered way to pay called PowerPay. Formerly MLGW PrePay, this service offers customers an alternative to traditional monthly billing, allowing them to purchase utilities in advance and monitor their usage in real time.

The U.S. Department of Energy on Feb. 10 renewed two emergency orders to further strengthen Puerto Rico’s electric grid as the island prepares for rising energy demand and the 2026 hurricane season.

Texas public power utility Austin Energy recently energized a new substation to add energy capacity for rapidly growing parts of North Austin, Texas.

Effective January 1, the city of Lake Worth, Fla., has entered into an agreement with the Florida Municipal Power Agency’s All-Requirements Power Supply Project.

Even modest measures to curb data centers’ energy use during peak hours could substantially reduce the amount of new generation capacity needed to meet growing U.S. electricity demands over the next decade, a new report on the potential economic benefits of data center load flexibility said.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on Feb. 17 renewed an emergency order that directs the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, in coordination with Consumers Energy, to ensure that the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Mich., remains available for operation "and to employ economic dispatch to minimize costs for the American people," the Department of Energy said.

The U.S. Secretary of War, in coordination with the U.S. Secretary of Energy, will seek to procure power from the U.S. coal generation fleet by approving long-term power purchase agreements, or entering into any similar contractual agreements, with coal-fired energy production facilities to serve Department of War installations or other mission-critical facilities under a Feb. 11 Executive Order signed by President Trump.