America’s grid is being rebuilt from the ground up—legally, financially, and physically. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) just ordered PJM to overhaul its clogged interconnection process. Utilities are pouring more capital into the grid than any other industry in the country. And Constellation’s massive acquisition of Calpine is the clearest sign yet that scale is the new king in power markets.

Meanwhile, voters are waking up to the real cost of AI: higher power bills. This issue of GridBrief tracks how policy, investment, and demand are reshaping your electricity—and who’s footing the bill.

FERC Orders PJM Overhaul to Clear Interconnection Backlog

FERC has officially rejected PJM’s claim that its current interconnection process complies with Order 2023, the commission’s baseline standard for fixing America’s jammed-up grid queues. PJM now has 60 days to rewrite its plan and clean up a mess that’s holding back 63,000 MW of projects. FERC’s decision forces PJM to:

• Drop the “reasonable effort” clause that allowed study delays;

• Define how costs for upgrades will be shared across network and substation improvements;

• Model storage projects more accurately by including their actual charging behaviors;

• Evaluate grid-enhancing technologies in studies going forward.

The broader picture? FERC is putting real teeth behind its order to unclog America’s generation queues. PJM alone has 46 GW of approved projects still waiting to break ground, and developers are demanding accountability. Commissioner David Rosner cited a 180 MW wind farm in Iowa delayed since 2017—its equipment is now obsolete, and its timeline extended to 2028.

Adding urgency: PJM’s capacity costs have spiked, and demand is still rising. The first step to new supply is interconnection—and right now, that process is broken. Other FERC updates from the open meeting:

• Chairman Mark Christie will step down in August, leaving three commissioners to maintain quorum.

• FERC approved two new reliability standards for inverter-based resources (IBRs), requiring wind, solar, and battery systems to ride through grid disturbances instead of tripping offline.

• Hydropower permitting gets a little easier, with new categorical exclusions adopted from the Bureau of Reclamation to fast-track maintenance and upgrades without full environmental reviews.

U.S. Utilities to Spend $1.1 Trillion by 2030 Amid Surging Load

Utilities are ramping up capital expenditures at unprecedented levels. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) reports that investor-owned utilities will invest $1.1 trillion between 2025 and 2029, primarily to address rising load from AI, EVs, industrial reshoring, and building electrification.

That’s nearly the same as the entire spend from 2015 to 2024—compressed into just five years.

In 2024 alone, utilities added:

• 32.5 GW of solar (up 63%)

• 11.5 GW of storage (up 54%)

• Only 2.4 GW of gas (down 79%)

• 4.1 GW of wind (a 35% drop)

But the mix is shifting. With AI-driven data center growth potentially pushing demand to 300 GW by 2030, new gas capacity is back in the conversation—especially with interconnection timelines and renewables delays mounting.

Bottom line: Utilities aren’t just upgrading—they’re racing. And every mile of wire and every MW of capacity costs more in 2025 dollars.

FERC Approves $16.4B Constellation-Calpine Merger

The power market just got a lot more consolidated. FERC has approved Constellation Energy’s $16.4 billion acquisition of Calpine, which will give Constellation control of nearly 60 GW of generation capacity spanning nuclear, gas, hydro, wind, solar, and storage. To avoid market power issues, Constellation must:

• Sell four gas plants totaling 3,546 MW in the PJM footprint;

• Cap bids in PJM’s capacity market through the 2035-36 delivery year;

• Avoid data center colocation deals until FERC clarifies market rules in 2026.

FERC rejected arguments that the deal would harm competition or allow nuclear-withdrawal strategies for side deals with tech companies. But Jefferies analysts noted the current restrictions still leave Constellation room to cut favorable private deals with data centers once regulatory fog clears.

Constellation’s bet is clear: own firm, dispatchable generation and position for AI-era demand. With Calpine’s 27 GW folded in, it now has the scale and flexibility to dominate both wholesale markets and direct-sell agreements.

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Conversation Starters

• Bank of America Institute: Watt’s Going On With the Grid?
  BofA’s latest energy outlook shows the grid is entering a sustained period of load growth. Key drivers: AI, EVs, industrial demand, and electrification. The upside? Deregulation and faster permitting may help keep pace—if reforms stay on track.

• Vox: Why Your Energy Bill is So High (and Getting Higher)
  Vox’s Umair Irfan lays out what we’ve been saying for months: grid infrastructure—not generation—is now the biggest driver of rising electric bills. The poles and wires are old, the permitting is slow, and the prices are going up.

• Washington Post: Data Centers Are Driving Up Your Power Bill
  In Columbus, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, monthly electricity bills jumped this summer—directly due to data center growth. PJM’s own monitor traced 75% of capacity auction price hikes to AI-powered demand. The quiet hum of cloud computing is now loud in your wallet.

Good Bet, Bad Bet

Good Bet: GE Vernova (GEV.N)
GE Vernova’s position in gas turbine manufacturing, grid hardware, and transmission-enhancing technologies puts it at the nexus of everything in today’s issue: interconnection reform, utility investment, and private-sector decarbonization. It’s the vendor of choice for a grid in overdrive.

Bad Bet: IronNet Inc. (IRNTQ)
Cybersecurity firm IronNet pitched itself as a grid defender but filed for bankruptcy amid contract losses and investor exodus. As utilities face real infrastructure pressures, vaporware security plays with no grid-scale credibility are unlikely to survive.

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