This is Queen Street Analytics' weekly digest of regulatory developments, legislative discussions, political announcements, and other government-related news concerning power generation and transmission, wind and solar, utilities, midstream companies, batteries and energy storage, LNG, biofuels, as well as nuclear. Once a week, we break down the most important updates in this space in under five minutes.

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Dates: 2026-03-08 to 2026-03-14

📋 In This Week's Newsletter

• 🏛️ This Week's Congressional Calendar
• 🇺🇸 Federal Government News
• 📚 What We're Reading This Week

This Week's Congressional Calendar

• Senate Water and Power Subcommittee hearing on power legislation and water infrastructure: On March 17, 2026, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power will examine numerous bills related to the Southwestern Power Administration, watershed pilots, hydropower licensing, micro hydrokinetic projects, rural water systems, and water power research. The hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. in Dirksen 366.
• House Subcommittee hearing on Winter Storm Fern and peak demand reliability: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy will hold a hearing March 17, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in Rayburn 2123, focused on lessons from Winter Storm Fern. Industry executives and reliability experts are scheduled to discuss grid reliability and power supply during peak demand.
• Helsinki Commission briefing on nuclear power and security lessons from Ukraine: On March 16, 2026, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) will receive a briefing centered on nuclear power’s security and policy implications, referencing Ukraine. The session is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in 360 CHOB.
• Senate hearing on Department of Energy implementation of nuclear energy executive orders: Senate Energy and Natural Resources will convene March 19, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. in Dirksen 366 to examine the Department of Energy’s implementation of President Trump’s May 2025 nuclear energy executive orders.

Federal Government News

EPA Final Rule Revises Standards for Large Municipal Waste Combustors

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized amendments to emissions standards for large municipal waste combustors under the Clean Air Act. The rule revises new source performance standards (NSPS) and emission guidelines (EG) for units over 250 tons/day, updates pollutant-specific emission limits, addresses judicial remands, and sets new recordkeeping requirements. The EG and NSPS will be effective May 11, 2026, and require state plan submission by March 10, 2027, with compliance for existing units due within three years of state plan approval or five years after promulgation. The amendments establish recalculated MACT floor limits for pollutants such as cadmium, lead, mercury, hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide, particulate emissions, dioxins/furans, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides. The rule also removes startup, shutdown, and malfunction exemptions, introduces electronic reporting, and clarifies permitting for air curtain incinerators. Affected facilities are largely municipally owned.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

Notice of Upcoming FERC Technical Conference on Grid Software

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced a technical conference scheduled for July 7–8, 2026, to address increasing market and planning efficiency through improved software. The first day will include panels on deployment of grid-enhancing technologies and advancements in load forecasting, focusing on grid efficiency as demand rises from data centers and other large loads. The second day features individual presentations on applications such as AI-driven aspects of power system optimization, resource adequacy software, and intertemporal constraints for generators and energy storage. Presenters must provide abstracts by March 18, 2026. The conference is open to the public and will be webcast.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

White House Executive Order Adjusts Energy Emergency Delegations and Defense Production Act Authorities

A March 13, 2026, executive order from the White House amends Executive Order 13603 to allow the Secretaries of Commerce and Energy to each independently exercise certain delegated Defense Production Act authorities. The order also clarifies the process for agency heads to recommend Presidential action under Executive Order 14156 if statutory authority has not been delegated. The directive affirms all actions must comply with relevant laws and does not grant new enforceable rights. The Department of Energy is assigned costs associated with publication.

Sources: www.whitehouse.gov

White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge Announced for Data Center Energy Demand

On March 4, 2026, President Trump issued a proclamation establishing the Ratepayer Protection Pledge in response to concerns over rising electricity demand from large-scale data centers. Under the pledge, seven major technology companies have agreed to directly pay for all generation and power delivery infrastructure required to meet the energy demands of their new or expanding data centers. The initiative requires separate, negotiated rate structures and commits participants to absorb associated costs, preventing those expenses from being passed on to American households. Participants will also coordinate with grid operators and invest in local communities to support reliability enhancements.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

FERC Seeks Comment on Market Transparency and Natural Gas Data Collection Extensions

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission published a notice seeking comments on the renewal of FERC-549B, covering gas pipeline rates, annual capacity reports, and customer index data. FERC-549B requires pipelines to provide information on firm service contracts, interruptible service, capacity releases, and annual peak-day capacity. FERC also issued notices for comment on extensions for FERC-551 (daily flow volume and capacity posting by interstate pipelines) and FERC-915 (public utility market-based rate authorization holders—records retention). All collection notices state there are no changes to underlying requirements.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

What We're Reading This Week

• US utilities scale up grid-boosting tech to meet surging demand: Utilities are adopting new grid technologies to meet rapid growth in electricity demand.
• US power demand surge from data centers could lift fossil fuel generation, EIA says: The EIA forecasts higher fossil fuel usage as data center-driven electricity demand accelerates.
• Sustainable Switch: Global renewables alliance calls for urgent clean‑energy shift: Renewable energy groups are urging governments to speed up the clean energy transition.
• Offshore wind project targeted by Trump administration starts sending power to the New England grid: After regulatory delays, a major offshore wind installation in New England delivers its first electricity.
• Opinion | The Reality of Sen. Markey’s Energy Mark Up: The editorial discusses the Senate's energy policy process and related political tradeoffs.
• Exclusive: Pakistan's domestic power sources cushion LNG supply risk, minister says: Pakistan's energy minister describes how domestic resources reduce reliance on LNG imports.
• UK considering targeted support for households as energy costs soar, Reeves says: The UK government weighs targeted measures to aid consumers amid rising energy bills.
• 🔮 The case for radical solar optimism: Analysis points to strong growth prospects for solar power in global energy markets.
• Chinese and American fiscal exceptionalism. How the UK ended coal & Keynes on the "short run", in which we are "st…: UK emissions fell in 2025 as coal usage reached its lowest in centuries.

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