The Fight Over Electricity Prices: Build More or Build Smarter? скачать в хорошем качестве

The Fight Over Electricity Prices: Build More or Build Smarter?

Electricity affordability is now driving energy policy — and two very different strategies are emerging. In this episode of Open Circuit, we break down the growing divide between a blunt-force federal approach and a state-led, asset-light strategy built around virtual power plants and distributed energy. At the federal level, the Trump Administration is pushing emergency interventions in PJM to address rising power costs and data-center demand, including forcing large energy users to pay for new power plants and keeping coal facilities online longer. Supporters say it’s necessary. Critics say it’s messy, legally fraught, and unlikely to deliver fast relief. Meanwhile, states like Illinois, Virginia, and New Jersey are taking a very different tack. Instead of building more centralized infrastructure, they’re leaning on virtual power plants to meet growing peaks and avoid overbuilding the grid. We dig into the policy, politics, and economics behind both approaches. Timestamps: 0:00 Cold open: Does the federal government even have a plan? 2:10 Affordability takes over the energy conversation 5:00 Two paths to cheaper electricity emerge 7:45 The Trump Administration’s emergency-mode approach 11:30 Forcing big energy users to pay: the PJM emergency auction idea 16:30 Is this real market reform or political signaling? 21:45 The state-level affordability response 24:00 Illinois, Virginia, and New Jersey: three state strategies compared 31:30 What virtual power plants would have to prove to matter 38:30 Why utilities struggle to treat flexibility like infrastructure 46:00 Are VPPs bending the cost curve or just buying time? 52:30 Closing reflections: affordability as the new constraint About Open Circuit: Open Circuit brings together three industry veterans to decode the forces shaping the next era of the energy transition — from AI-driven load growth and supply chain crunches to market upheavals and policy battles. Hosted by Stephen Lacey, Jigar Shah, and Caroline Golin, the show offers a rare insider’s view into the biggest technological and economic transformation of our time. 📺 Watch more episodes:    / @latitudemediainc   📰 Read Latitude Media: https://www.latitudemedia.com/ 📬 Subscribe to newsletters: https://www.latitudemedia.com/newslet... Join Latitude Media, April 13-14, in San Francisco for Transition-AI 2026, our flagship event on the AI-energy infrastructure buildout. The two-day conference will bring together developers, utilities, regulators, and hyperscalers to align on what’s real, what’s possible, and what can get built to meet AI infrastructure demand. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year’s conference using the code PODS10. ⁠Register today here⁠! https://www.latitudemedia.com/events/... #EnergyAffordability #ElectricityPrices #VirtualPowerPlants #VPP #PowerGrid #EnergyPolicy #PJM #DistributedEnergy #BatteryStorage #DataCenters #AIInfrastructure #OpenCircuit