This Week's Top 5 Topics | January 4 – January 10, 2026
1. Utilities Enter 2026 Under Heightened Reliability and Extreme-Weather Scrutiny
Utilities and regulators began conducting business in 2026 focused on winter reliability due to volatile late-December conditions, while the majority of early-January assessments emphasize cold-weather preparedness, fuel assurance, outage response performance, as well as coordination with emergency agencies. A number of state commissions indicated that the metrics behind winter performance will continue to be a central component of regulatory oversight throughout the year, especially as utilities continue their pursueit of resilience-related cost recovery, in addition to their system-hardening investments.
nerc.com | utilitydive.com
Why it matters:
Early-year reliability performance frequently shapes prudence reviews, storm cost recovery decisions, and approval of future resilience investments, establishing winter operations, as a foundational regulatory and financial issue for utilities in 2026.
2. Data-Center and AI Load Growth Shifts From Forecast to Near-Term Planning Reality
A number of utilities across PJM, ERCOT, MISO, and the Southeast reported that data-center and AI-driven load requests appear to be accelerating faster than they were forecast, which is forcing more near-term decisions around interconnection timing, transmission upgrades, and cost allocation. Regulators have become more focused on ensuring that infrastructure costs associated with large loads are appropriately assigned, due to the projects potential to have a significant impact on customer rates, as well as long-term resource planning.
utilitydive.com | ft.com
Why it matters:
Large-load growth is reshaping integrated resource plans, transmission build-out schedules, and rate-design debates, with material consequences for both utility capital planning and customer affordability.
3. Regulatory Finance Takes Center Stage as Utilities Reassess 2026 Rate Trajectories
The commissions have resumed full schedules after the holidays, while utilities began advancing 2026 rate-case strategies, looking to balance capital-intensive investment plans with customer affordability concerns. Regulators are encouraging a phased recovery, enhanced bill-impact transparency, and disciplined capital planning, at the same time that utilities are seeking approval for grid hardening, transmission expansion, and compliance-driven expenditures.
spglobal.com
Why it matters:
How utilities frame early-year filings often sets the regulatory tone, settlement leverage, and earnings visibility for the remainder of the year.
4. Natural Gas and Power Markets Enter January With Heightened Price Sensitivity
We have evidence that energy markets remained highly sensitive to weather forecasts and storage levels during the first full January trading week, the holiday-thinned volumes led into renewed volatility in natural-gas and wholesale-power pricing. While utilities are keeping a close watch on procurement strategies, due to concerns regarding sustained cold conditions, that could rapidly increase fuel costs, as well as increase the scrutiny placed on winter bills.
eia.gov | reuters.com
Why it matters:
Fuel price swings directly affect fuel adjustment clauses, purchased-gas riders, and political scrutiny, particularly during peak winter billing periods.
5. Water Utilities Prepare 2026 Compliance-Driven Capital and Rate Filings
Many water utilities took the first week of January to finalize their compliance and capital planning tied to PFAS treatment, source-water protection, and aging-infrastructure replacement. Various systems are preparing 2026 rate filings that will introduce multi-year recovery of compliance-driven investments, bringing affordability challenges back to the forefront, along with long-term financial-planning considerations that span the water sector.
epa.gov | ctinsider.com
Why it matters:
Compliance-driven capital spending is becoming a structural driver of water-utility rates, elevating affordability concerns and regulatory scrutiny across the sector.