The U.S. energy and utility sectors continue to navigate turbulence driven by inflation, geopolitical events, and more. The long-term effects on the utility industry are yet to be determined. Combatting turmoil with infrastructure investment support and efforts from the Federal Reserve, utilities must keep a close pulse on financial metrics.

Ambitions for rapid change in Australia’s electric sector should send a clear message to U.S. utilities: the energy transition will be both top-down and bottom-up.  Utilities must be active participants by offering balanced solutions accounting for reliability and affordability. The transition will require conversation about the pace of change and trade-offs involved.

In late December 2022, utilities scrambled as a deep winter freeze left as many as 1.6 million customers without power during an extreme weather event. With growing electrification and a changing resource mix, grid operators must plan and prepare to ensure resource adequacy.

Despite rising commodity prices, infrastructure investments, and decarbonization efforts, the pressure is on Gas LDCs to ensure affordability and cost stability. Combining forces with policies related to the energy transition, the outlook is unclear for natural gas LDCs.

As utility systems (generation, transmission, and distribution) become more complex and system elements involve more trade-offs, planning must adapt to ensure goals are aligned across the utility and with regulatory policy driving changes. 

Recent grid stresses have spurred the electric industry to reconsider its approach to resource adequacy. Are traditional measures of resource adequacy – availability at peak – insufficient as more energy-limited resources come online? Resource adequacy analysis is adapting to account for increasingly complex variables.

This is a graphical look at interesting facts and statistics in the energy industry.