Key developments in utility regulation — curated for government affairs and external affairs professionals.
APS General Rate Case – ACC Docket E-01345A-25-0144 | Evidentiary Hearing Through Late July 2026
Arizona Public Service's evidentiary hearing before the Arizona Corporation Commission began May 18, 2026, and is running through late July with more than 30 intervenors; APS seeks a ~14% base rate increase affecting roughly 1.3 million customers and proposes a controversial Formula Rate Adjustment Mechanism (FRAM) that would allow annual rate increases without a full rate case. APS has also proposed a 45%+ rate increase for extra-large energy users like data centers to prevent cost-shifting to residential customers, making this a national bellwether on the FRAM model and data center tariff design.
TEP General Rate Case – ACC Docket E-01933A-25-0103 | Closing Arguments Due July 2026, New Rates Targeted September 2026
Tucson Electric Power's evidentiary hearing began April 22, 2026, seeking a ~14% rate increase affecting more than 400,000 customers; closing arguments are due in July 2026, with TEP requesting new rates effective September 2026. Commissioners directly challenged TEP during hearings over whether residential customers were subsidizing infrastructure costs tied to Project Blue, a large Pima County data center—making this a leading national test case for data center cost-shifting at a state commission.
Georgia PSC Data Center / Real-Time Pricing Cost Allocation Investigation (FCR-27 Spin-Off) | Findings Due December 31, 2026
On July 8, 2026, the Georgia PSC unanimously launched a standalone investigation into how Georgia Power's largest Real-Time Pricing customers—primarily data centers—contribute to rising per-unit fuel costs for all other ratepayers, after PSC staff found large industrial customers drive up average fuel costs by approximately 5–11% per month. The investigation grew out of the May 2026 FCR-27 fuel cost settlement in which experts identified nearly $1 billion in costs that data centers pay nothing toward, but families and small businesses do; the first round of hearings is scheduled for September 2026 with findings due December 31, 2026.
DTE Electric General Rate Case – MPSC Case No. U-22046 | Filed April 28, 2026; Decision Expected February 2027
DTE Electric filed a $474.3 million rate increase request (a ~9.96% residential increase of ~$11.06/month) on April 28, 2026, just weeks after the MPSC approved a $242 million rate hike in February 2026—the back-to-back filings have drawn sharp public backlash and a vow by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to fight the increase. The case is deeply intertwined with the MPSC's ex parte approval of a 1.4 GW special contract for an Oracle/OpenAI hyperscale data center in Saline Township, with Nessel also pursuing a Michigan Court of Appeals challenge to that approval, and Michigan SB 768 pending in the legislature to limit rate hike filings to once every three years.
Xcel Energy Electric General Rate Case – CO PUC Proceeding 25AL-0498E | Settlement Contested; Final Decision Expected Q3 2026
Xcel Energy filed for a $356 million annual electric revenue increase (9.9%, ~$9.94/month for residential customers) on November 21, 2025; a non-unanimous partial settlement reducing the request to $225 million was submitted but is opposed by AARP, the Colorado Office of Utility Consumer Advocate, and the City of Boulder, with a final PUC decision expected in Q3 2026 and rates targeted for August 2026. The proceeding runs simultaneously with Xcel's parallel gas rate case (Proceeding 25AL-0499G, hearings July 23–31, 2026), representing the largest back-to-back regulated revenue ask in Xcel Colorado's recent history and placing dual-fuel affordability pressure on ratepayers.
ComEd 2026 CEJA Capital Expenditure Reconciliation & Grid Plan – ICC Docket (2026 Cycle) | Evidentiary Hearings August 11–12, 2026
Under Illinois' Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), ComEd's annual capital expenditure reconciliation and updated multi-year grid plan is before the ICC with evidentiary hearings set for August 11–12, 2026, and a proposed order due around October 14, 2026; the 2026 cycle is especially high-stakes as the ICC cut $25.4 million from ComEd's $268.5 million December 2025 reconciliation request and is expected to apply aggressive prudency scrutiny again. Staff and intervenor direct testimony were due May 14, 2026, and rebuttal exchange runs through late July—placing GR practitioners in an active pre-hearing window right now.
Dominion Energy Virginia Fuel Cost Securitization – SCC Case No. TBD (Filed May 29, 2026) | Petition Deadline July 15, 2026
On May 29, 2026, Dominion Energy Virginia filed a petition under newly enacted 2026 Virginia legislation for authority to securitize approximately $1.1 billion in unrecovered deferred fuel costs by issuing 'deferred fuel cost bonds'—the petition had to be filed on or before July 15, 2026 to qualify under the statute, and the SCC has published a notice allowing parties to intervene and file comments by July 15. If approved, securitization would spread the $1.1 billion balance over multiple years, avoiding a near-term spike to residential customers who would otherwise absorb the full amount in the annual fuel factor, making the SCC's financing order a critical affordability protection decision.
Dominion Energy South Carolina General Rate Case – PSC Docket 2026-1-E | Settlement Effective July 1, 2026; Statutory Order Deadline Imminent
Dominion Energy South Carolina filed a 12.73% rate increase request on January 2, 2026, and a near-unanimous comprehensive settlement was submitted to the PSC on May 8, 2026, reducing the revenue ask from $322 million to $207 million with a 7.62% residential bill increase (~$12/month) effective July 1, 2026. South Carolina's statutory six-month order deadline from the January 2 filing date falls in early July 2026, meaning the PSC is under legal pressure to issue its final order or risk the utility being entitled to 100% of its original request under bond.