From state commissions and regional power markets to FERC to the White House, EPSA breaks down the trends, policy landscape, and issues that are likely to shape the electric grid in 2025.
In 2024, EPSA continued to advocate for well-functioning competitive electricity markets that bring benefits to consumers and businesses. Looking ahead to 2025, we expect a critical year for America’s energy system. Between EPSA’s annual Competitive Power Summit, increasing electricity demand, and a packed political agenda with Republican control of both Congress and the White House, 2025 will be one to watch.
In this Look Ahead, EPSA breaks down the trends and issues that are likely to shape the electric grid in 2025.
2025 Competitive Power Summit
At EPSA’s third annual Competitive Power Summit in 2024, industry experts, grid operators, and regulators came together to discuss reliability, state policies, and gas-electric coordination.
EPSA’s fourth annual summit will continue our tradition of convening the leading experts from across the energy sector and providing an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss important developments in competitive electricity markets, answer pressing questions, and analyze what’s in store for the sector in 2025 – with a focus on how to meet extraordinary energy demand growth.
Attendees can look forward to panels on grid resource adequacy, issues with the interconnection queue, and how competitive markets are well-positioned to deliver solutions to the challenges facing the power system. Featured speakers will include:
- Manu Asthana, President and CEO of the PJM Interconnection,
- Jim Burke, President and CEO of Vistra Corp.,
- Stephen DeFrank, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission,
- Rich Dewey, President and CEO of the New York ISO,
- Leaders from EPSA member companies,
- and more.
The full list of speakers is now available here and registration is now open to the public. We look forward to seeing you there!
What to Watch Out for in Competitive Power This Year
Electricity Supply Gap
Power demand, driven by data centers, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and electric vehicles is expected to continue rising in 2025. According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. is expected to reach record high electricity demand of nearly 4.2 million GW.
However, meeting this rising demand continues to be a serious challenge, especially as policies continue to force dispatchable resources into retirement. PJM offers a strong case study. The grid operator forecasts 25 GW of peak summer demand growth by 2034 but also sees an estimated 51.8 GW at risk of retiring by the end of the decade.
EPSA has continued to highlight for policymakers and the public how dispatchable resources play an incredibly important role in meeting demand and this role will only grow as intermittent resources like solar and wind continue to expand. EPSA has been a consistent advocate of an Energy Expansion—an all-of-the-above approach to meeting growing demand cost-effectively and reliably.
Permitting Reform
Permitting reform remains a key agenda item for many in Congress in 2025. However, a key bipartisan permitting reform bill from Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY), failed to pass after negotiations broke down in December. The bill would have accelerated permitting for a range of energy resources.
With incoming Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, permitting reform could be back on the agenda in 2025 with even bigger changes to environmental laws such as reduced requirements for pipeline permits. In December, Trump promised to accelerate permits and environmental reviews for projects over $1 billion dollars.
Republican leaders have said they want to address permitting issues along party lines through budget reconciliation, but the process has sharp procedural limitations on what can be included. Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV), one of permitting reform’s fiercest advocates on the Hill, will not be returning to the Senate in January.
See more in EPSA’s 2025 Legislative Outlook.
Co-located Generation
As manufacturing and data centers are built out, large demand customers like data centers and manufacturers are looking for new and innovative ways to secure substantial amounts of reliable power. These customers have turned to co-locating demand centers with generation facilities that can supply power directly.
Amid this interest, FERC has been asked to provide clarity on the rules for co-location agreements which will shape how agreements affect prices and reliability. EPSA has shared our recommendations with FERC and outlined co-location principles that can help regulators ensure new co-location rules preserve competition, reliability, and innovation.
Meeting State Power Needs
Several PJM states where data center demand is concentrated held critical discussions at the close of 2024 around how to develop the resources needed to serve this additional load on the power system. The Virginia State Corporation Commission, the Maryland Public Service Commission, and the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission all held conferences in late November and December addressing data center load growth and resource adequacy. Leaders in Ohio, where a manufacturing resurgence and ambitions for continued economic growth are happening in tandem with the AI boom, are looking for the best path to encourage energy development to support these trends.
EPSA continues to encourage state leaders to choose competitive policies to incentivize energy development rather than backtracking to a regulated monopoly utility model. Competitive power suppliers and electricity markets have a proven track record of moving nimbly and efficiently to cost-effectively bring new resources online. By keeping energy development competitive, policymakers can protect customers from higher costs and put the risk on investors and shareholders who are best able to manage it.
Other Things to Keep an Eye on in 2025
FERC Leadership
With a new administration from a different party in seat, there could be changes to appointees at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), potentially affecting what policy priorities the Commission will address during the first year of President-elect Trump’s second term. Should current members of the Commission resign, President Trump would have the opportunity to appoint new individuals including to the chairman’s position.
The Next Trump Administration
President Trump’s incoming administration will determine the policy priorities that will shape competitive power markets and the grid. Trump’s nominations for the Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), FERC, and the Department of the Interior (DOI) will play key roles. The cabinet is expected to focus on increasing baseload generation, especially by removing obstacles to fossil fuel extraction and generation and reducing regulations on power production.
Lee Zeldin, as Trump’s nominee to head the EPA, is expected to reduce EPA regulations on fossil fuel-powered electricity generation facilities and scale back or eliminate some of the agency’s controversial recent actions on power plant regulations. EPSA has joined other prominent voices in warning that proposed power plant rules would seriously threaten reliability. Proposed rules would have removed large amounts of essential dispatchable energy and required remaining plants to quickly install technologies like carbon capture that are not yet commercially available at scale. With Zeldin’s appointment it is widely expected that these rules will likely not go into effect.
In addition to leading the DOI, Doug Burgum was named Trump’s pick to head a new National Energy Council. Burgum’s “all-of-the-above” approach to energy as Governor of North Dakota and his commitment to “innovation over regulation” could help shape the Federal approach to grid capacity in the coming years.
New Congressional Committee Chairs
With a new Republican majority taking its seats in the Senate and a returning majority in the House, new Committee Chairs have been selected—many of whom could help shape U.S. energy policy for years to come. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) will lead the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee next year while Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WA) will lead the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. In the House, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) was selected as Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
The Bottom Line
With a returning Trump administration and unprecedented challenges facing the grid, 2025 will be an important year for the competitive power sector. Policies that support continued access to dispatchable resources needed for reliability and competitive approaches to incentivize investment in needed electric power infrastructure will be essential. EPSA will continue to advocate for the benefits of competitive markets that ensure reliable and cost-effective energy and foster innovation.
