Utilities

The companies operating the system.

Investor-owned utilities, public power, cooperatives, rate cases and capital plans.

Utilities own and operate much of the grid and, in many regions, the power plants that feed it. This hub covers utility investment plans, rate cases, regulation, wildfire and storm resilience, and the business-model questions raised by rooftop solar, storage and rising demand.

Rates are set through regulatory processes that are rarely explained in plain language. Briefs here walk through what a rate case decides, why bills are rising in some places, and how integrated resource plans shape the generation mix. We also follow utility programmes for demand response and virtual power plants that pay customers to shift their use.