US utilities bet on natural gas as Trump climate rules fade and data center demand surges

US utilities are turning back to natural gas to meet surging electricity demand from data centers and manufacturing, as the Trump administration moves to repeal Biden-era carbon capture requirements. Most power companies no longer list climate regulation as a major risk in their long-term plans, according to a new POLITICO report. The shift means new gas plants are being planned without the 90 percent carbon capture mandate that was set to take effect in 2032. Some utilities are hedging their bets. Duke Energy Kentucky may add a scenario assuming future carbon capture retrofits by 2037. Entergy Louisiana dropped its 15-year practice of including a carbon price in planning but warned that future US or EU climate policies could still raise costs. Environmental groups like the Sierra Club are stepping up challenges to these plans at the state level, where regulatory approval can lock in fossil fuel infrastructure for decades. The article underscores a critical tension: near-term demand pressure versus long-term regulatory risk. For anyone tracking grid decarbonization or emissions policy, this is a concrete look at how utilities are making decisions right now and what it means for the pace of the energy transition.