High-Voltage Power Lines Illustrating AI-Driven Surge in Electricity Demand

Part 1: The demand surge and the DOE’s Section 403 direction

Over the past six months, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have each taken major steps that challenge the 90-year-old boundary between federal and state authority over the electric grid. FERC regulates the interstate wholesale electricity market and the high-voltage transmission system that supports it; state public utility commissions regulate retail sales to end-use customers and the local distribution infrastructure that delivers power to homes and businesses.

On June 10, 2026, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a notice and request for comments on its intention to request approval for a new information collection on contextual Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS). The purpose of this research is to develop and evaluate a prototype contextual DMS that fuses data gathered from various…

This Month:

International Trade: President Issues Proclamation Reducing Tariffs on Agricultural Equipment
On June 1, 2026, President Donald Trump issued Proclamation 11032 (91 FR 34085…

In a partially published opinion filed June 5, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 1) affirmed a judgment entered after Defendant and Respondent Bay Area Toll Authority’s (BATA) demurrer brought on statute of limitations grounds to a CEQA action challenging the “Bay Lights 360” Bay Bridge illumination project was sustained without leave to amend.  The lawsuit, which was the second CEQA challenge to Bay Lights 360 filed by Plaintiff and Appellant Mark Baker, was held barred because (1) Baker’s allegations regarding an encroachment permit issued by Caltrans to implement lead agency BATA’s project did not restart the statute of limitations, and (2) he was precluded from relitigating the statute of limitations issues that were conclusively resolved against him in his first action and resulted in that action’s dismissal.  The Court’s opinion analyzed the judicial confusion sown by the “on the merits” requirement included in some articulations of the issue preclusion doctrine, but, assuming its applicability, held that that requirement was satisfied by a prior dispositive demurrer ruling based on the statute of limitations.  Mark Baker v. Bay Area Toll Authority (Illuminate the Arts, Real Party in Interest) (2026) ___ Cal.App.5th ___.

On April 13, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule further delaying the start of the one-time data submission period for reporting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under Section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The rule postpones the opening of the reporting window until EPA completes a separate,…

California and Maryland ushered in a number of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations last week. Although packaging EPR laws in Oregon and Colorado have been operational for some time, recent milestones in California and Maryland will bring their programs into full swing this summer. While not yet fully implemented, Minnesota and Washington’s programs also hit recent milestones.

EPA is actively conducting on-site inspections focused on RMP and EPCRA compliance, and facilities receiving a Notice of On-Site Compliance Inspection (NOCI) must act smartly. Recent notices show that EPA is pairing short lead times with broad document requests, planning multi-day inspections, and undertaking close review of Program 3 accident prevention requirements.For facilities with regulated…

Disaster Assistance Programs: Federal, State Governments Respond to Pennsylvania Freeze Event
On May 26, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had “signed a disaster designation for 17 counties in Pennsylvania due to damage and losses caused by below-freezing temperatures that occurred April 19 through April 21, 2026,” allowing…