Workforce
Saying that a shortage of electrical workers may constrain America’s ability to build the infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and a shift to clean energy, Google on May 1 announced that it is supporting an effort to train 100,000 electrical workers and 30,000 new apprentices in the United States.
Bills and Rates
President Trump on May 2 sent to Congress an initial proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026, beginning October 1, that would cut discretionary spending by 8 percent, including a 13 percent increase for defense spending and a 17 percent cut for non-defense programs.
Energy Storage
Convergent Energy and Power on May 1 said it has broken ground on a 3-MW/9-MWh utility-scale battery storage system for Massachusetts’s municipally-owned utility company West Boylston Municipal Light Plant (WBMLP).
Generation
The PJM Interconnection has selected 51 projects that can come online quickly and provide more than 9,300 megawatts of reliable capacity through PJM’s Reliability Resource Initiative, it said on May 2. The projects consist of 39 uprates and 12 new construction proposals. The uprates apply to
Generation
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council recently released a new initial forecast showing a range of potential electricity demand growth in the Pacific Northwest over the next two decades.
Bonds and Financing
Fitch Ratings on April 30 notified the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency that IMEA’s long-term debt was affirmed as an “AA- rating with a Stable Outlook.”