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USEA will examine utility needs and Trump administration actions at its virtual press briefing on April 16.

The balance of 2025 is looking to be a time of unique stress for the electric utilities.

While the Trump administration is committed to helping, will it in fact hinder or have little near-term effect?

Will contradictions of policy and political preferences outweigh the EPA’s dramatic easing of environmental restrictions on power plants?

Utilities’ plans are laid out far in advance and don’t change quickly. They have been on a trajectory of carbon capture and storage and green generation, easing off fossil fuels. The EPA has changed, but state mandates remain in place.

Some utilities were already committed to new natural gas plants, and they have applauded the administration's endorsement of gas and coal. They want to build plants because they see gas as a necessity.

There is no movement back to coal. Some may seek life extension of existing facilities but with one exception (a merchant plant in Wyoming), no new coal plant has been announced.

There is major concern that money committed by the Biden administration with signed contracts for loans and other financial assistance won’t be forthcoming, throwing projects into disarray and impeding the construction of everything from transmission to new gas turbines to essential storage.

Two transmission organizations, CAISO and ERCOT, have said it was storage that got them through rough spots last year. Utilities are worried about anything that might impede storage projects, including no promised government funding.

Disbursements appear to be frozen, and utilities are wondering about committed funds from the loan office of the Department of Energy. It was especially active in the last administration with low-cost loans aimed at reducing emissions, improving transmission, and supporting the growth of electric transportation.

The Biden Agriculture Department was committed to aiding rural utilities with an extensive portfolio of grants and loans. These are now in abeyance and even though the papers were signed, it is unclear whether this money will reach the utilities.

Against this uncertainty, the utilities are struggling with rapidly rising demand from data centers and the runaway adoption of artificial intelligence across the country.

The wild card is the weather and most chief executives report that devastating weather and wildfires have replaced their previous principal worry: cybersecurity.

The United States Energy Association will examine the precarious balance between new rules and old trajectories under Trump at its next virtual press briefing on Wednesday, April 16, at 11 a.m. ET.

Llewellyn King, syndicated columnist and broadcaster, organizes and moderates these briefings. USEA President and CEO, Mark Menezes, gives opening and closing remarks and is on hand to contribute his deep knowledge as a former deputy secretary of energy.