Indiana creates nation’s first utility to provide electricity only to data centers; reaction is mixed among stakeholders

   

Power grids across rural America are facing the challenge
of serving data centers. (Andrew Metelev via Unsplash)

Rural Northwest Indiana has given the nod to what some think may be a solution to the power generation problem associated with data centers — a dedicated utility provider. Circle of Blue reports via RuralNewsNetwork.org that the idea is to “simultaneously protect ratepayers while continuing to embrace the industry’s growth.”

Christian Thorsberg writes about the boom of data centers in the region, “where nearly a dozen hyperscale data centers are planned, under construction or already operating.” Reaction to the first-of-its-kind utility has been mixed.

The region’s largest power producer, and the one with the highest rates, announced two years ago that because of inquiries from data center projects its power load was likely to quadruple over the next decade. That led to the company’s idea of creating a subsidiary to serve only data centers. Thorsberg explains that the proposal “was drawn up to shield regular ratepayers from extra costs of adding mega-users … to [the] network.” The subsidiary “would generate and sell electricity” wholesale to the parent company, “its only customer,” which would then sell it to data centers. “The buffer for resident’s rates would come from the mathematical accounting of these transactions, which in theory would remain separate from household bills.”

The plan received unanimous regulatory commission approval last fall, and it included exemptions for the subsidiary that speeds up the process. For example, the regulatory commission “does not need to approve all aspects of financing for projects,” and the subsidiary can “pick and choose” its customers.

The region appears to be bracing itself for the impact of this plan. Critics and experts are expressing concern about the effect on the environment, the grid’s efficiency, and whether the network can support the volume of electricity expected. “I’m not against the business model,” Jaoa Ferreira, acting director of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies at the University of Virginia, told Thorsberg. “One important thing for me is that this actually results in adding production to the grid, and not just splitting electricity from everyone else to just satisfy data centers.”

 

Why can't states simply share energy to avoid blackouts? Bolstering U.S. grids requires multi-faceted plans.

As power grids across the U.S. face more challenges, including dramatic increases in national energy needs, such as electricity-sapping data centers and extreme weather fluctuations across entire regions, some Americans may be wondering why a regional grid under strain can't just borrow from a neighboring state's grid that has plenty.

There are few links between the U.S. Eastern, Western and ERCOT interconnections. (ERCOT map)

The answer is to that question is simple and complex, energy experts Sufan Jiang and Fangxing Fran Li write for The Conversation. "The U.S. bulk power system is not one seamless national grid, but three major grid regions known as interconnections — the Eastern, Western and ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) systems. There are very few transmission lines between them, so if one has too little power, the others may not be able to help much."

In February 2021, Texas was clobbered by a series of brutal winter storms that dumped snow and ice across the state while simultaneously keeping temperatures below zero for days. Because Texas owns its own grid and shares few transmission lines with other states, ERCOT was "forced into the largest deliberate electricity shutoff in U.S. history. Operators cut power to millions of customers to avoid a total grid collapse," Jiang and Li explain. ERCOT's blackout left more than 4.5 million homes and businesses without power.

The Southern Spirit Transmission line will connect Texas to 
the Southeastern grids for power sharing. (Pattern Energy map)

In an effort to give ERCOT more options during another energy crisis, the "Southern Spirit Transmission project was announced by the Department of Energy in 2024," Jiang and Li explain. That addition "would include a 320-mile transmission line connecting Texas with Louisiana and Mississippi."

In its simplest form, a transmission line connects energy providers so they can share power. But when it comes to natural disasters and extreme weather, power lines have to withstand the storm or event. Jiang and Li write, "The answer to bolstering power grids is not just to build more high-voltage transmission lines. It is also important to harden the transmission corridors that already exist so they can withstand extreme weather and be restored more quickly after a disaster."

The federal government also regulates the sharing of grid energy between operators. "Federal standards require transmission providers to have enough electricity available in reserve to serve their own local homes and businesses safely," Jiang and Li explain. "Only excess electricity above that safety threshold can realistically be treated as power available to help neighboring grids during an outage."

Maine lawmakers consider a moratorium on data center developments as more towns reject proposals

Maine lawmakers are considering a moratorium 
on data center builds. (Photo by I. Quick, Unsplash)

As data center developers target parts of rural New England for their sprawling compounds, advocates for Maine want answers to questions "about electricity prices, grid reliability, and impact on water resources," reports Julia Tilton of The Daily Yonder. Several Maine communities rejected data center proposals, in part, because Mainers already pay some of the highest electrical rates in the country.

As lawmakers examine the pros and cons of data centers, "one idea floating around Maine’s statehouse is to impose a moratorium on data center development," Tilton explains. "How Maine navigates these challenges could be a model for the rest of New England, which shares an aging electric grid and faces a similar set of circumstances."

Currently, Maine lawmakers are "considering LD 307, a resolution bill that would establish a data center coordination council to provide input and evaluate policy options for data center development in the state," Tilton reports. Passing a state moratorium would prevent larger data center projects from obtaining permits or building until the moratorium ends.

Not all Maine lawmakers agree that a moratorium is the best option. Matt Harrington, a Republican of York, Maine, voiced concerns "that a moratorium 'would harm' a data center development in his district, which includes several towns in the state’s more urban southern region," Tilton writes. Lawmakers suggested they could grant the data center in Harrington's district an exemption.

Questions about the state's grid and its capacity to "feed" data centers without raising residents' utility bills remain a concern. Seth Berry, executive director of Our Power, a Maine-based nonprofit organization advocating for energy democracy, favors the moratorium. He told Tilton, "There are just so many unknowns. We really have to slow this down and step back and look at this massive new development, preferably as a region.”

Wisconsin utility regulators review plans for how to pay for data center energy needs

Microsoft’s new AI data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wis.
(Microsoft graphic via Canary Media)

Utility regulators in Wisconsin are scrutinizing the state's first energy plan to power AI campuses. Meanwhile, consumer and environmental groups dispute the need and consumer benefits for supporting data center developments.

The biggest debate right now is how much of their energy infrastructure costs data centers will be required to pay. Kari Lydersen of Canary Media reports, "Wisconsin’s largest utility, We Energies, has offered its first major proposal before state regulators on the issue."

The proposal, which is open for public comment, contains two options for data centers to choose from, both of which outline that "data centers would pay most or all of the price to construct new power plants or renewables needed to serve them," Lydersen explains. The first option, defined as "full benenfits" requires data centers to fund 100% of their needs. The second option, called "capacity only," requires data centers to pay 75% of their costs. "Other customers would pick up the tab for the remaining 25%."

The We Energies decision is also likely to set a precedent for other Wisconsin utilities managing data center energy plans. Bryan Rogers, the environmental justice director for the Milwaukee community organization Walnut Way Conservation Corp, told Lyderson, "As goes We Energies, so goes the rest of the state.”

Consumer and environmental groups are speaking out against the capacity-only option, arguing that "it is unfair to make regular customers pay a quarter of the price for building new generation that might not have been necessary without data centers in the picture," Lyderson writes.

We Energies says "everyone will benefit from building more power sources," Lyderson reports. Jeffry Pollock, a Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group trade adviser, told regulators that "the utility’s own modeling of the capacity-only approach showed scenarios in which the costs borne by customers outweigh the benefits to them."

Although Wisconsin has seven big data centers under construction, the state "has no laws governing how the computing facilities get their power," Lyderson writes. Wisconsin lawmakers are debating two bills that define data center energy division, but "until a measure is passed, individual decisions by the state Public Service Commission will determine how utilities supply energy to data centers."

As residential electricity costs climb, big users pay less

Between 2022 and 2024 residential electricity costs 
increased by 10%. (Photo by J. Maculan, Unsplash)

After years of wallet-draining food inflation, many Americans must now contend with soaring home electric bills. "Since February 2020, electricity prices have increased by an average of 40% across the country," reports Shannon Osaka of The Washington Post. Overall, the brunt of the increased costs is being paid by residential customers even when they aren't the biggest users.

Many utilities have increased rates to fund needed infrastructure builds, but residential customers are paying more than commercial users. Osaka writes, "Residential electricity costs rose by 10% between 2022 and 2024. Commercial users, spanning everything from small corner stores to giant, energy-sucking data centers, have seen rates increase just 3%."

Building and repairing the poles, wires and transformers required for residential electricity delivery is costly and isn't generally needed by large commercial users, which is one reason many residential customers pay higher rates. Oska notes, "The average electricity price at the end of 2024 was 16 cents per kilowatt-hour for homes and apartments, and just 13 cents for commercial customers."

While infrastructure costs explain some of the difference in electrical prices, a complex system of lobbying goes on behind the scenes to determine how much a business will pay for electricity. Osaka reports. "In theory, each group is supposed to pay an amount that aligns with the cost to bring them power — but in practice, different groups can lobby for lower prices."

Charles Hua, executive director of PowerLines, a group that works to lower electricity costs for consumers across the country, told Osaka, "Residential consumers feel like they don’t have a voice in our utility regulatory system." Osaka adds, "Utilities often sign special contracts with data center customers that place them outside standard pricing agreements."

Some states are working to prevent data centers from shifting their expansion costs onto residential customers. Osaka reports, "Virginia recently established a new class for data centers and other huge users of electricity, with agreements in place to make sure the data centers pay for more of the grid upgrades required."

If natural gas is relatively cheap, why are so many Americans facing higher utility bills?

Graph by Alyson Hurt and Jeff Brady, NPR from U.S. Energy Information Administration data

Across the country, utility companies are replacing leaky pipes and upgrading natural gas infrastructure, which is expensive. "Because it's a monopoly utility, regulators will pass those costs on to ratepayers," reports Jeff Brady of NPR. "Gas utilities have increased construction spending dramatically in recent years — up 50% from 2022 to 2023, to $49.1 billion."

Since gas companies don't make money selling gas, they aim to profit from reconstruction costs. "Utilities make their money by building new infrastructure, such as pipelines, and replacing outdated infrastructure," Brady explains. "Regulators then allow companies to recover those costs, plus profits, in customer bills."

Even as the cost of natural gas has dipped, consumers haven't benefited. "In 1984, about two-thirds of gas utility bills paid for the gas, and one-third covered infrastructure, utility costs and taxes," Brady reports. "Now that has flipped. In 2024, less than a third of customer bills went to gas, and about two-thirds went to the other costs."

One solution to reduce utility costs is for state regulators to encourage utilities to repair rather than replace faulty pipes. Regulators in Massachusetts asked gas companies to do three things to hold down costs: Fix pipes, shut down segments of leaky pipes and install electric heat pumps. Brady adds, "State officials say gas utility customers could see up to a 17% decrease in a pipeline replacement surcharge on their monthly bills."

American consumers are worried about their energy bills, the job market and the increased cost of groceries

Americans deploy different strategies to counter grocery
costs. (Adobe Stock photo)

Between spiking energy bills and a dreary jobs market, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs documents the deep stress many Americans feel about their bills and future financial prospects, reports Olivier Knox of U.S. News and World Report. Along with those worries, American consumers continue to look for ways to counter the ever-increasing cost of groceries.

When asked about utility bills, 36% of poll respondents said their "electricity bills are a 'major' source of stress, and a bit more than one half – 54% – said the same about grocery costs, a little more than a year ahead of the November 2026 midterm," Knox writes.

Roughly 47% of polled adults said they were "'not very' or 'not at all confident' they could find a good job if they wanted to," Knox reports. This response marks a big increase from 37% the last time the question was asked in October 2023.

Polled responses were somewhat surprising given the U.S. economy's low unemployment numbers and healthy stock market gains. Knox adds, "But there are worrying signs, including a weakening labor market."

While many Americans express concern about the overall cost of living, most continue to battle ongoing grocery price increases, reports Christopher Kuo of The Wall Street Journal. According to the Labor Department data, since August 2024, the price of "coffee increased 20.9%, ground beef was up 12.8%, and bananas rose 6.6%. Dairy, fruits, vegetables and cereals have all become pricier."

In an effort to help stretch their food budgets, some consumers are "cutting back on purchases, stockpiling certain foods or exploring more-affordable stores," Kuo adds. Other shoppers have become choosier about what lands in their cart, while others scour sale-only items.

U.S. food costs are rising due to higher commodity prices for items like beef, along with market adjustments to tariffs. Kuo explains, "Some of these costs have been absorbed by food companies; others are being passed on to consumers."

Analysis: Consumer utility bills may climb as data centers get special deals

Getty Images Plus image via The Conversation, CC

At a time when U.S. consumers are getting squeezed from all sides, the idea that average Americans may pay higher electric bills so mega-companies such as Google and Meta can get special discounts for their energy-guzzling data centers may sound unfair, but it could be true, write Ari Peskoe and Eliza Martin in their story for The Conversation.

"In our paper Extracting Profits from the Public, we explain how utilities are forcing regular ratepayers to pay for the discounts enjoyed by some of the nation’s largest companies," they write. “And [we] identify ways policymakers can limit the costs to the public."

While most utilities are sanctioned monopolies, their foundation lies in shared costs. "Splitting the utility’s costs among all consumers made perfect sense when population growth and economic development across the economy stimulated the need for new infrastructure," Peskoe and Martin write. "But today, in many utility service territories, most of the projected growth in electricity demand is due to new data centers.

When data centers are the impetus for a utility having to build more supporting infrastructure, the normal way power utilities pay for their expansion no longer works. They explain, "If state regulators allow utilities to follow the standard approach of splitting the costs of new infrastructure among all consumers, the public will end up paying to supply data centers with all that power."

A Meta data center in Louisiana provides a good example. "By our calculations, [the center will use] twice as much energy as the city of New Orleans," Peskoe and Martin add. "Entergy, the regional monopoly utility, is proposing to build more than $3 billion worth of new gas-fired power plants to meet the data center’s energy demand. … Entergy is proposing to include the costs in rates paid by all customers."

Instead of billing Meta $3 billion for its infrastructure needs, Entergy is working on a separate contract with Meta, with rates the general public won't see. Peskoe and Martin write, "Entergy has asked state regulators to keep key terms of the contract secret, and only a redacted version of its application is available online."

The fact that there are many secret deals isn't much of a secret; however, what's in the deals remains protected. "Our research, reviewing nearly 50 public utility commission proceedings about data centers’ power needs across 10 states, uncovered dozens of secretive contracts between utilities and data centers," Peskoe and Martin explain. "Unlike Louisiana, most states require utilities to submit to the public utility commission their one-off deals with data centers, but they allow utilities to conceal the pricing terms from the public."

Is anything being done to address the issue? "Many state legislatures are noticing these problems and working to figure out how to address them," they add. "Several recent bills would set new terms and conditions for future data center deals that could help protect the public from data center energy costs."

Cooling off from summer sizzle will cost nearly 4% more this year

A hose may be the cheapest way to cool off
this summer. (Photo by J. Tyson, Unsplash)

Summer sun and heat might be good for beachgoers, but climbing summer temperatures will mean spiking power bills for U.S. consumers. Reasons for ballooning energy costs include higher natural gas prices, grid upgrade costs passed on to utility customers and increased domestic demand.

"Electricity prices across the country have increased 4.5% in the past year, topping the 2.2% jump in the price of groceries," reports Jennifer Hiller of The Wall Street Journal. "Consumer prices rose 2.4% in May from a year earlier."

Whether U.S. consumers flip on fans or crank the air, most will pay roughly 4% more "because of a jump in natural gas prices, the largest source of power generation," Hiller explains. "Natural gas deliveries to power plants will cost about 50% more from June through September than last year."

That's painful. "The higher bills are putting a strain on the wallets of consumers who are already stretched thin by rising costs for food, shelter and insurance," Hiller writes. "The average household power bill will reach $784 for the combined period from June to September."

Many Americans started the summer months already behind on their electrical bills. "Mark Wolfe, the executive director at the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, said one of every six U.S. households is behind on their electricity or natural gas bills," Hiller reports. "Customers owed gas and electric utilities more than $24 billion in late payments as of March."

Despite the pinch consumers are bound to feel, several utility companies are asking regulators to approve rate increases. "In Florida, NextEra Energy’s Florida Power & Light is asking regulators to let it increase rates between 1% and 5% a year through 2029," Hiller adds. "About $9.3 billion in additional electricity costs will begin trickling down to customers in the PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest grid operator and wholesale electricity market."

In some markets, AI data centers are "stressing the grid." In other places, increased demand is partially driven by electric vehicles. "Across the U.S., the growing pains are sparking fights over how to pay for upgrades and costs," Hiller reports. "The power industry also warns that a rollback of the clean-energy tax credits offered under the Inflation Reduction Act would push electricity prices higher, too."

HHS fires staff dedicated to helping low-income Americans pay for utilities: 'There's nobody left to do anything'

About 17% of U.S. households spend more than one-
tenth of their income on energy. (Adobe Stock photo)

A recent staffing purge of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program employees at the Department of Health and Human Services may leave millions of low-income Americans unable to pay their utility bills. "The Trump administration abruptly laid off the entire staff running a $4.1 billion program to help low-income households across the United States pay their heating and cooling bills," reports Brad Plumer of The New York Times. The loss of assistance could burden millions of poorer rural residents who already spend a disproportionate amount of their incomes on energy bills when compared to their more urban counterparts.

It's unclear how a program that routinely helps roughly 6.1 million Americans can continue to offer assistance without any employees to administer payments. Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which works with states to secure funding from the program, told Plumer, “They fired everybody. There’s nobody left to do anything. Either this was incredibly sloppy, or they intend to kill the program altogether.”

While most of the 2025 funds have been paid, a remaining $378 million hangs in the balance. Plumer explains, "Congress had approved $4.1 billion for the program for fiscal year 2025, and about 90% of that money had already been sent to states in October to help households struggling with high heating costs." The $378 million could help lower-income residents pay for summer air-conditioning bills, but LIHEAP disbursements seem unlikely without program staffing.

The firings angered several Democratic lawmakers. Plumer reports, "Representative Jared Golden, a Democrat who represents a largely rural district in Maine that voted for President Trump, wrote in a social media post, 'What efficiency is achieved by firing everyone in Maine whose job is to help Mainers afford heating oil when it’s cold?'" Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, referred to the LIHEAP staff eliminations as "sabotage."

A study published last year in The Economic Journal "found that roughly 17% of U.S. households spend more than one-tenth of their income on energy, a threshold that researchers often define as a 'severe' energy burden," Plumer adds. "The study also found a strong relationship between energy affordability and winter mortality."

Hackers who claim to be the 'Cyber Army of Russia Reborn' disrupt a water tower system in rural Texas

The FBI has been investigating the hack in Muleshoe, Tex.
(City of Muleshoe, Texas photo via CNN)

While the number of computer hacks on American businesses by foreign actors has steadily increased, a hack in Muleshoe, Texas, in January might be the "first disruption of U.S. water system by Russia," reports Ellen Nakashima of The Washington Post. A Muleshoe citizen drove past the town's water tower, saw it was overflowing and alerted the police. "Authorities soon determined the system that controlled the city's water supply had been hacked. . . . Thousands of gallons of water had flowed into the street and drain pipes."

The hackers, who identified themselves as the Cyber Army of Russia Reborn, "Posted a video online of the town's water-control systems showing how they reset the controls," Nakashima writes. Using the messaging platform Telegram, the hackers posted a caption that read, "We're starting another raid on the USA." The hackers proceeded to explain how they were going to target U.S. infrastructure.

Location of Muleshoe, Tex., pop
5,200 (Wikipedia map)

Experts from the cyber security firm Mandiant believe "that the water tank overflow in a Texas panhandle town may well be linked to one of the most infamous Russian government hacking groups," Nakashima reports. "If confirmed, analysts say it would mark a worrisome escalation by Moscow in its attempts to disrupt critical U.S. infrastructure by targeting one of its weakest sectors: water utilities."

The notorious Russian hacking group, nicknamed "Sandworm, has achieved notoriety for briefly turning out the lights in parts of Ukraine at least three different times; hacking the Olympics Opening Games in South Korea in 2018; and launching NotPetya, one of the most damaging cyberattacks ever that cost businesses worldwide tens of billions of dollars," Nakashima explains.

Muleshoe's city manager, Ramon Sanchez, told Nakashima, "You don't think that's going to happen to you. It's always going to happen to the other guy." Nakashima reports, "Sanchez said the hackers brute-forced the password for the system's control system interface, which was run by a vendor. That password hadn't been changed in more than a decade."

After years of negotiating, California has found a way to connect renewable energy sources with their stressed grid

When interconnected, solar energy can help bigger, more
stressed power grids. (APPA photo, Unsplash)

A new agreement in California has brought energy stakeholders together to help the state's taxed grid.

"For years, utilities have grappled with how to handle the ever-growing number of solar and battery systems trying to connect to the lower-voltage grids that deliver power to customers," reports Jeff St. John of Canary Media. "But distributed solar and battery resources can also be enormous assets: By holding back power when the grid doesn't need it and then sharing their extra power during periods of high demand, they can help alleviate grid strains and lower the cost of keeping the grid running for everyone."

The agreement between California regulators, utilities and clean-energy proponents has taken "nearly four years to hash out," St. John reports. "But in mid-March, the California Public Utilities Commission approved new interconnection rules that take into account how, with the right structures in place, solar and solar-plus-battery systems can be more help than hazard to California's overworked grid."

CPUC's new policy allows solar and battery projects to "modulate how much power they send to the grid with the help of either solar inverters whose power-control systems can reduce power output from moment to moment or batteries that can soak up excess solar power and inject it back into the grid later," St. John explains. 

Solving grid-interconnection conflicts is a nationwide challenge. 

St. John rreports, "Utilities have very good reasons to take a conservative, safety-first approach to interconnection. After all, they're responsible for keeping grids safe and reliable — and distributed energy resources represent potential disruptions to those grids that utilities can't directly control."

From shimmying up and down poles to deft rescues without 'gigs,' the International Lineman's Rodeo has it all

Spectators in Kansas watch the action.
(Photo by Elise Kirk, The Wall Street Journal)

These folks aren't your horse and pony cowboys -- they're "electric cowboys" who scramble up poles in search of glory at the International Lineman's Rodeo, "the Super Bowl of the electric-utility profession," reports Erin Ailworth of The Wall Street Journal. The Kansas event "drew hundreds to test their chops at timed events such as climbing a 40-foot wooden pole and rescuing a 6-foot-1-inch, 165-pound mannequin named Rodeo Joe."

Amid natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes, a lineworker's job is defined by responding with skill and speed to restore power in times of extreme stress. The competition gives utility workers and their families a place to celebrate the profession and let off some steam. Ailworth writes, "Relatives flock to watch since rodeos are often the only time to see their loved ones practicing a job that can demand long hours in disaster conditions." Brock Baker, who works for Xcel Energy in Amarillo, Texas, told her, "My family doesn't get to see it, but now I have the opportunity to do it and showcase my abilities. I mean, that's pretty cool to me."

Baker was among 1,316 journeymen and apprentice lineworkers "who'd come to pursue glory at the International Lineman's Rodeo. They made up 732 teams from the U.S., Canada and Brazil, many of whom had qualified at smaller rodeos," Ailworth reports. 

One event requires lineworkers to carry "an egg in a bag during a timed pole-climb, then descend with the delicate cargo in their mouths to demonstrate they are smooth and in control," Ailworth explains. Dennis Kerr, co-chairman of the rodeo's board, told her: "The egg is inspected by a judge at the end. If there's a tooth mark in it, it's a two-point deduction, and if there's a crack in it, that's a 10-point deduction."

There are timed team events that "teams learn about just before the competition," Ailworth writes. "This year's surprises: For Mystery Event #1, they would need to change out the crossarm at the top of the utility pole, and for Mystery Event #2, replace the jumpers on the pole that had been de-energized and short-circuited to protect the lineworkers. . . . Around them, wide-eyed children goggled at all the hard-hat-wearing competitors." Steve Harmon, chief executive of Community Electric Cooperative in Virginia, told Ailworth, "In the eyes of children, these participants are somewhat heroic."

Vermont utility has a faster, cheaper way to protect consumers against outages during extreme weather

Green Mountain Power proposed installing batteries like this
Tesla battery. (Photo by Caleb Kenna, The New York Times)

In the ongoing balancing act between electrical grids and extreme weather preparation, Vermont's Green Mountain Power is asking state regulators to "let it buy batteries it will install at customers' homes, saying doing so will be cheaper than putting up more power lines," reports Ivan Penn of The New York Times. "The plan is a big departure from how U.S. utilities normally do business. Most make money by building and operating power lines that deliver electricity from natural gas power plants or wind and solar farms to homes and businesses. Green Mountain — a relatively small utility serving 270,000 homes and businesses — would still use that infrastructure but build less by investing in television-size batteries that homeowners usually buy on their own."

This past year, severe storms, flooding and power outages have pushed Green Mountain to change its business model in favor of a cheaper, quicker solution. "As the company ran the numbers, it realized that paying recovery costs and building more power lines to improve its system would cost a lot more and take a lot longer than equipping homes with batteries," Penn writes. "Green Mountain's plan builds on a program it has run since 2015 to lease Tesla home batteries to customers. Its filing asks the Vermont Public Utility Commission to authorize it to initially spend $280 million to strengthen its grid and buy batteries, which will come from various manufacturers."

Green Mountain's chief executive, Mari McClure, told Penn, "We don't want the power to be off for our customers ever. People's lives are on the line. That is ultimately at the heart of why we're doing what we're trying to do." The company will still control the batteries "allowing it to program them to soak up energy when wind turbines and solar panels were producing a lot of it. Then, when demand peaked on a hot summer day, say, the batteries could release electricity."

Part of the problem with big energy projects is how long they take to complete. Penn reports, "Green Mountain's proposal seems to recognize that reality, said Leah Stokes, an associate professor of environmental politics at the University of California. Stokes told Penn: "It really is the model, especially if you're worried about power outages. It really could become the example for the rest of the country."

The public vs. private power battle revives as some Mainers, sick of poor service and reliability, push for a takeover

A worker inspects a Central Maine Power electricity corridor.
(Photo by Robert F. Bukaty, AP via The American Prospect)

In the 1930s and 1940s, one of the greatest political battles at the state level was between investor-owned utilities and public power, which had as its best allies member-owned rural electric cooperatives. Now, the battle has been rejoined as customers of investor-owned utilities in one of the most rural states try to make them public. "Investor-owned utilities are hardly known for being adored by the public," reports Lee Harris of The American Prospect. "Even so, Maine has two of the least popular in the Northeast. For the past two years, Maine's two privately owned utilities, Versant Power and Central Maine Power, have ranked last in a customer satisfaction survey evaluating utilities' performance in the Eastern United States." (Of note, the ratings for rural electric cooperatives are dominated by large co-ops near cities, suggesting that data on smaller co-ops was too limited to rank them.)

Mainer voters will get to weigh in on a "ballot initiative up in November, backed by Mainers who are fed up with that status quo, aims to take back the monopoly privileges granted to those private utilities and convert them into Pine Tree Power, a nonprofit authority that an independent board would run," Lee writes. "Backers say it would improve reliability and bring down rates. They argue this is a critical time to take back public control of utilities, as Maine embarks on a mass electrification drive that will transform its energy system. . . . Opponents, including some Democrats and utility workers, are skeptical that the authority can deliver the savings it promises, and worry about the risks involved in overthrowing incumbent utilities."

Buying a private electric utility is complicated; however, some communities have succeeded. "Winter Park, Florida, formed a public power utility in 2005, after 69 percent of residents voted in favor of the plan. Since then, it has laid the majority of its electric lines underground, strengthening storm resiliency," Lee explains. "But other cities have struggled to pull off similar de-privatization. Boulder, Colorado, recently gave up on its decade-long struggle to take over its private utility. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, vetoed a similar utility buyout plan in 2021, after the legislature approved a bill that would have taken the proposal to Maine voters."

Enmax and Avangrid have "poured millions into a campaign to prevent Pine Tree Power's proposed takeover," Lee writes. The initiative also faces union resistance. "Workers' biggest concern is that the PTP initiative would cause them to be classified as public employees, potentially weakening the union. Since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Janus, public employees have not been required to pay dues to unions representing them, even when the union bargains on their behalf."

Congressional budget negotiators wrangle over water spending

Budget negotiators are working on a congressional spending bill compromise to avoid an Oct. 1 government shutdown; however, the dollars aimed at clean drinking water and water pollution mitigation remain a sticky wicket for both parties, reports Kery Murakami of Route Fifty. "Even under the best-case scenario, Senate Democrats are only pushing to keep funding for two key water programs the same as this year, after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to keep spending flat as part of their deal to avoid a default on the nation’s debt in June."

House Republicans seek "to drastically cut the two programs, according to analyses by two separate associations representing state and local water agencies," Murakami reports. "Though the funding would come on top of the separate nearly $4.8 billion for the water programs in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, associations representing water agencies say even the Senate’s proposal isn’t nearly enough."

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition said, "When cities are living with unsafe drinking water, the federal government needs to be doing more—not less—to ensure access to clean drinking water," reports Lester Graham of Michigan Radio. "The organization criticized a House budget proposal that makes cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency's budget, cuts to funds for water infrastructure and eliminates programs to help communities dealing with pollution threatening water sources."

The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations' plan "would keep spending at $1.2 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which provides low-interest loans to local water districts to fund clean water projects," Murakami writes. "But the House GOP proposal would send states only a tiny fraction of that, about $62 million, according to the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities, an association representing state water agencies. . . . A separate analysis by the American Business Water Coalition of several local water districts puts the figure at roughly the same amount—$61 million, or 5% of the Senate’s proposal."

Wesley Sydnor, chief of government and public affairs for the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District, "said cutting the funding would impact ratepayers. . . . [The district] has a $1 billion capital plan over the next five years to replace pumps on the Ohio River that were built in the 1950s and upgrade the district’s largest water treatment plant," Murakami reports. "Should funding for low-interest loans through the programs be cut," Sydnor said, the district have to issue bonds with higher interest rates. 

Quick hits: Rural towns wave the flag; fresh charcuterie; farmers and mental health; hauling stuff; eating seeds . . .

Successful Farming photo

Rural towns have beauty, diversity and a lot of national pride. "Rural areas wave the flag proudly all year, but the colors shine extra brightly around Memorial Day, Flag Day, the Fourth of July, and Veterans Day," Jessie Scott of Successful Farming reminds us. "Sixteen percent of the U.S. population is from rural America, yet 40% of the U.S. military is from those same rural communities. . . . They have a deep love of the flag. . . . Rural residents will find any excuse to proudly display the flag. Wrapping up harvest is certainly one of them."

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Summer is a time for snacking on all sorts of garden treats, from crisp carrots to zippy jalapenos; add cheese bites, summer sausage, and ta-da! You have the beginnings of a charcuterie board. Reminiscent of coffee parties and fondue parties, "charcuterie (pronounced 'shar-koo-tree') boards have caught my eye in recent years. This is another example of an old way of serving that has been adapted for modern times," writes Julie Garden-Robinson of AgWeekly. Here are simple steps to build your own.

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Farmers can't control the rain or shine, but can help each other weather the stresses of living off the land. "Today's farmers are dealing with increased stress, risk of suicide, and other mental health concerns," reports Allee Mead of the Rural Health Information Hub. "However, experts who work with farmers and farmworkers are seeing increased interest in mental health programming and decreased stigma around mental health, which may make it easier for healthcare providers to provide the care that farmers need." Alongside this increase in openness is more programming to support the interest.

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Life can feel cluttered. It also can be filled with clutter. Items we intend to give, pack or put away, but never quite find the time. Consider repurposing those cluttering corners. Is there a donation place for those still-wrapped sheets? The Fence Post columnist Peggy Sanders looks at how clutter might have more purpose than we give it credit for. We might want to take it more seriously.

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Kayaks loaded for a 250 mile trip on (mostly) two-lane
roads. (Photo by Donna Kallner, The Daily Yonder)

Summer and early fall are full of packing, hauling and moving. Whether it's hay to a horse farm, pies to the county fair or 4-H fair, or finally getting to take that kayaking trip, rural America is busy with loads, writes Donna Kallner for The Daily Yonder. "Back when my husband and I sold canoes and kayaks, we heard all the standard lines used by people hauling stuff: My favorite is I'm not going far, followed closely by I'll keep it under 100. So we taught lots of impromptu lessons on how to tie down a load. And most people were grateful. We learned some lessons, too – like to back away slowly when you hear I thought YOU checked it. That marriage ended in our parking lot."

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Seeds are crunchy, nutritious and easy-to-pack snacks, but not all seeds are created equal. See how experts rank the top edible seeds.

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Commandy in her new studio
(Photo by Jamie Larson, Rural Intelligence)

Consider the life of ceramicist Ramah Commanday, whose life as a Napa Valley artist underwent an extreme transformation. She was "dramatically reforged by the intensity of California wildfires," reports Jamie Larson for Rural Intelligence., a mostly online publication for rural areas west of the Hudson River. "Now resettled into her new home and studio in Germantown, the 72-year-old climate refugee saw her home, studio, and decades of creative output destroyed by the Glass Fire of September 26, 2020 – named for Glass Mountain, which she used to see out her former bedroom window. After the fire, as she sifted through the wreckage of her home, she says she felt like an archeologist, unearthing the artifacts of her own life."

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Planning to dig? Call 811 first. "The consequences of cutting buried utility lines can be high. That's not just in the cost of repairs and fines. . . . There's also the risk of injury," Kallnet reports Donna Kallner for the Yonder. "We call Diggers Hotline to get lines marked before digging. . . . Every state has an equivalent service you can call to mark the location of buried utility lines. You can find your state's info online or call 811. After you place your request, workers come to mark the approximate location of buried utilities."

Small water systems struggle to maintain service, comply with federal regulations and compete for federal money

State highway map of Grayson and Edmonson counties

On opposite ends of the same Kentucky county are two water-treatment plants, whose stories illustrate the challenges of providing drinking water to rural America. They're part of a long story by Connor Griffin of the Louisville Courier Journal, who is a Report for America corps member and part of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk.

On the shores of Rough River Lake is the new $13 million water plant for the Grayson County seat of Leitchfield, built mainly with federal loans and grants. On the other side of Nolin River Lake, at Wax, is an Edmonson County Water District plant, "where the equipment is outdated and at capacity, and maintenance is constant," Griffin reports, as his main object example. He notes that the district has applied for state help and has another plant, in Brownsville, but doesn't note that removal of dams on the Green River have made that source of supply less dependable.

Griffin's main point is this: "In small and rural communities across the U.S., water system operators are stretched thin, covering around-the-clock responsibilities to keep water running safely and reliably . . . Their staffing is often sparse and underpaid. Infrastructure, in many places, is crumbling and underfunded, and though there is a fresh infusion of federal money on the table, it’s a challenge to access. . . . Smaller systems are at an inherent disadvantage" in applying for federal funds."

Water systems must obey federal regulations designed to ensure that drinking water is safe, and smaller systems are in the 10 states along the Mississippi River had a harder time following the law, Griffin reports. "Many communities will also face increases in their water bills to keep up with infrastructure and staffing needs. Yet raising the price of water may prove unworkable in rural and historically underinvested communities like Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta, some of the most impoverished in the country."

Poor places pay less. "Water system operators serve as a first line of defense for a community’s public health, and must have working knowledge of chemistry for licensing tests. Yet entry-level operator pay in some small communities isn’t far above wages at the local McDonald’s," Griffin reports. "A workforce survey last year in Kentucky found water utilities in the commonwealth pay as low as $10 per hour for an entry level position, with an average closer to $18."

What will it cost local water systems to remove 'forever chemicals'? It depends, and many haven't been tested yet

Florence, Ala., water superintendent Ryan Wallace
(Photo by Dan Busey, Florence Times Daily)

When the Environmental Protection Agency proposed last week that it start regulating "forever chemicals," which are long-lasting and ubiquitous, the first question for many Americans may have been, "What are forever chemicals?" Wired magazine answers: "It’s a foreboding and informal name for human-made chemicals that coat nonstick pans, food packaging, and waterproof clothes before ending up in the water you drink. . . . High levels of exposure can cause fertility issues, developmental delays in children, and reduced immune responses, according to the EPA. They can also elevate the risk of several cancers, including prostate, kidney, and testicular cancer."

The first question for many local officials in the 40 states that have no limits for the chemicals may have been, "How much will this cost our taxpayers and ratepayers?" As often in such cases, it depends, but Amanda Hoover of Wired magazine suggests it's coming to a water system near you: the chemicals "have been detected in more than 2,800 locations in all 50 states and two territories, according to data from the Environmental Working Group." And many areas have not been tested.

Arizona has tested 450 of its 1,200 public water systems for the chemicals and found them in 72, Clara Migoya reports for The Arizona Republic. "Many utilities have shut down contaminated wells to limit exposure. Until now, only Tucson and Marana have put a treatment system in place." The state is "working with public water systems to identify funding," including a state priority fund and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

In South Carolina, with 200 tests to go, "Updated statistics released Thursday show a disturbing trend," reports Sammy Fretwell of The State newspaper. "All told, regulators say 78 drinking water sources are polluted with forever chemicals at levels that exceed the recently announced federal standard of 4 parts per trillion for the two most well-studied types of the chemicals," perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFOA and PFOS. Collectively, the chemicals are called PFAS.

"A CBS News Colorado analysis of state testing records shows in 2020, 40 public water utilities in Colorado had levels of both PFOA and PFOS at or above 4 parts per trillion," Kati Weis reports. That is "the lowest limit at which the compounds can be detected with today's technology," The Arizona Republic notes. "If the chemical shows up, public water systems would have to clean it. For PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and [non-biodegradable] GenX compounds, the limit is relative. The combined limit of one or more of the chemicals would be calculated through an EPA-established hazard index."

"It's going to impact every water company in the country that gets surface water," Mike Doyle, chief utility manager in Florence, Ala., told Russ Corey of the Times Daily. Corey reports, "He said Florence is considering a reverse osmosis system to remove the contaminants, but that system is expensive to operate because of the amount of power it requires."

The rule won't affedct every water system, "but it's going to be a lot," Christopher Higgins, a Colorado School of Mines civil and environmental engineering professor who has studied PFAS for years, told Weis of CBS, who reports: "Higgins says while you wait for your water system to evaluate its PFAS levels, if you're concerned about it, you can use carbon filters or a reverse osmosis system to filter your drinking water at home. If you go with a carbon filter, Higgins advises changing the filter frequently. Higgins also says these proposed regulation changes will not affect private wells, and advises it's important if to get your water tested if your drinking water is supplied by a private well, especially if there have been fires in your community over the years where firefighting foam containing PFAS may have been used."

Overall costs of the proposed regulation are uncertain. EPA estimated annual costs at $772 million, "but Tom Dobbins, chief executive of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, which represents some of the largest public water utilities in the country, said the estimated cost for a single entity to filter out PFAS, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in North Carolina, was $43 million," Lisa Friedman of The New York Times reports. EPA’s top water official, Radhika Fox, "emphasized that the economic benefits of the regulation are seen as far greater by EPA, with an estimated $1.2 billion per year in human health benefits — or over $100 billion in the lifetime of a child born today" reports E.A. Crunden of Environment & Energy News.

Hurricane-force winds leave half a million Kentuckians without power, most of them rural electric co-op members

Wind destroyed some farm buildings in the southern part of the Bluegrass Region. (Inter County Energy photo)

What was effectively a dry-land hurricane left almost half a million Kentuckians without power Friday evening, most of them rural. More than 300,000 consumer-members of rural electric cooperatives lost power, the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives said Sunday night.

"With damage as widespread as any natural disaster in Kentucky electric cooperative history, co-ops are making steady progress restoring power," a news release said. "As of 1 p.m. ET Sunday, about 87,000 members remain without power. With the ground saturated from heavy rains, heavy trucks have had difficulty accessing damaged infrastructure."

Kentucky crews are being helped by employees of 58 co-ops in Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, the release said: "Because the national network of transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by electric cooperatives is built to federal standards, line crews from any co-op in America can arrive on the scene ready to provide emergency support, secure in their knowledge of the system’s engineering."

“With the help of our fellow co-ops, power restoration work is continuing around the clock.” KAEC President and CEO Chris Perry said in the release. “We are thankful that most homes and businesses were spared damage in this event, but the persistent high winds and hurricane-strength gusts on Friday took a tremendous toll on electric infrastructure.”

The storm that moved through the region lowered barometric pressure at Louisville to 28.85 inches of mercury, or 977 millibars, the lowert ever recorded there. Hurricane-force wind gusts were reported at several locations, and the Lexington airport was knocked out of service.