As summer turns to autumn and winter lies around the corner, there’s a lot of energy news this week. Also, updates on new data center rules in New Jersey, a case of fraudulent safety training cards in New York City, and long-awaited cleanup of the Passaic River. All this and more in this issue of Infrastructure Update
Regulators approve 8.9% winter rate reduction for New Jersey Natural Gas customers
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has approved rate adjustments for New Jersey Natural Gas that will lower customer bills by 8.9% for the 2026–2027 winter heating season. The reduction provides immediate bill savings across approximately 600,000 residential and commercial customer accounts starting in October. The savings stem from lower wholesale commodity costs and adjustments in the utility’s supply portfolio, offsetting portions of long-term capital investments in pipeline infrastructure and distribution system reliability.
Read more: https://binje.com/sectors/energy/bpu-approves-njngs-8-9-winter-rate-cut/
NYC revokes 2,000 construction site safety training cards amid fraud probe
The New York City Department of Buildings invalidated approximately 2,000 Site Safety Training (SST) cards after an investigation exposed a fraudulent certification scheme. Authorities discovered that an authorized third-party training provider had issued mandatory safety credentials to workers without conducting required classroom and jobsite safety instruction. Building officials launched targeted jobsite audits across the five boroughs to identify uncertified laborers and enforce citywide construction safety standards.
EPA moves to repeal power plant greenhouse gas rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced action to repeal federal regulations that restrict planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. In addition to rolling back existing standards, the agency signaled steps to restrict the federal government’s future authority to regulate power plant carbon pollution under the Clean Air Act. Federal officials stated the policy shift will ease financial burdens on the power sector by hundreds of billions of dollars and prioritize ratepayer energy costs, while environmental groups criticized the rollback for undermining public health and national climate commitments.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/14/epa-power-plant-climate-rules-01069146
Cleanup agreement advances for 17-mile stretch of polluted Passaic River
Federal authorities have reached a proposed Superfund settlement agreement to advance environmental remediation across the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River in Essex County. The river corridor suffered extensive, multi-decade toxic contamination stemming from industrial operations, including a historic manufacturing plant in Newark that produced components for Agent Orange. The proposed consent decree establishes baseline sampling protocols and lays procedural groundwork for major dredging and riverbed capping operations along one of the most polluted waterways in the country.
New Jersey enacts mandatory energy and water disclosures for data centers
New Jersey has implemented legislation requiring commercial data center operators to submit semiannual reports tracking their electricity and water consumption to the Board of Public Utilities. The law covers total electricity use, IT hardware demand, cooling fuel, backup power generation, and peak daily water usage. State officials structured the reporting framework to evaluate the mounting strain high-density data centers place on the regional power grid and municipal water systems, while giving municipalities more leverage during project negotiations.
Power plant winter weather resilience improves after regulatory overhauls
A joint regulatory analysis by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation reported significant reductions in unplanned generator outages during recent severe winter storms. The findings showed that mandatory cold-weather preparedness standards, enhanced weatherization protocols, and better generator fuel assurance have strengthened bulk electric grid performance during extreme freeze events compared to historical winter disruptions.
Read more: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/unplanned-power-plant-outages-winter-weather-ferc-nerc/830141/
Middle East conflict drives global coal demand toward record volumes
Escalating conflict involving Iran has intensified disruption across international natural gas markets, prompting electric utilities in Europe and Asia to ramp up coal-fired power generation. With natural gas supplies constrained and global benchmark fuel prices climbing, power producers have increasingly turned to coal assets to ensure continuous baseload reliability, reversing short-term carbon reduction projections and pushing international coal demand toward all-time highs.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/climate/global-coal-demand-iran-war.html
New Jersey nuclear station plans first-in-nation medical isotope production
Operators of a commercial nuclear plant in New Jersey unveiled plans to adapt existing reactor facilities to manufacture essential medical radioisotopes. The initiative aims to make the plant the first major commercial nuclear producer of these isotopes in the United States, targeting acute domestic supply shortages of critical diagnostic imaging agents and targeted radiotherapies used in advanced cancer treatments.
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