The State of Utility Planning, 2025 Q3

In 2025 Q3, US utility resource plans showed increasing projected electricity demand and emissions, with many utilities delaying fossil plant retirements to ensure resource adequacy. Load growth is primarily driven by large loads like data centers, while the phase-out of federal renewable tax credits and MISO regulatory changes have led to reduced wind and solar plans and increased reliance on gas capacity. Current IRP projections indicate a significant gap between planned emissions reductions and the net-zero targets required by 2035 for climate alignment.

• Utilities that updated their integrated resource plans (IRPs) in 2025 Q3 increased their projected load through 2035 by 2.1 percent and their projected emissions by 5.5 percent.
• Projected electricity load across the US is expected to grow 24 percent by 2035 compared to 2023 levels, a significant increase from the 6 percent growth projected in January 2021. This growth is largely driven by large loads, such as data centers, which introduce high levels of uncertainty in forecasting.
• Resource planning in 2025 Q3 is characterized by delayed retirements of fossil power plants and a shift toward gas capacity. This trend is influenced by the phase-out of federal renewable tax credits, MISO's shift to seasonal accreditation, and the need to maintain reliability during extreme weather events.
• There is a substantial gap between current utility IRP projections and climate-aligned decarbonization pathways. While the IEA Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario suggests the electricity sector reach net-zero by 2035, current IRPs project emissions to be reduced by only 53 percent by 2035 compared to a 2005 baseline.

APA

RMI (2025). The State of Utility Planning, 2025 Q3. https://rmi.org/resources/the-state-of-utility-planning-2025-q3/

Chicago

RMI. The State of Utility Planning, 2025 Q3. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/the-state-of-utility-planning-2025-q3/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The State of Utility Planning, 2025 Q3 |date=15 October 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-state-of-utility-planning-2025-q3/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025state, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The State of Utility Planning, 2025 Q3}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-state-of-utility-planning-2025-q3/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }