By Tim Lambert | Editor-in-chief
“How much can we squeeze out of the grid that we have? How much can we squeeze out of the power gen that's out there, and where do we need to upgrade both of them We're also agnostic on what the end use of the power could be. We're saying, ‘Where can you bring more power into the grid in a place that the grid can accept it?’” — Tom Murphy of the economic development nonprofit Team Pennsylvania, on a study to identify potential locations for new power generating facilities.
A good Thursday morning to you. In early September, our team started working on the Pennsylvania Capital-Star Voter Guide. They reached out to every candidate for governor, lieutenant governor, and U.S. House for their stances on key issues, including affordability.
With mail in voting in Pennsylvania underway and the November election less than three weeks away, our guide is now available to you. Not every candidate responded to our questionnaire, but we’d like to extend our thanks to those who took the time to do so.
I hope you find it helpful as you decide who will earn your vote.
Thanks for starting your day with us. As always, we deeply appreciate you reading, sharing and supporting our work. -- Tim
A map from the Pennsylvania Accelerated Transmission and Energy Redevelopment Study report shows sites that could be chosen for redevelopment. (Screenshot/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
By Peter Hall
Nearly two dozen former power plant sites across Pennsylvania are part of a study to identify potential locations for new generating facilities that could help ease the region’s power crunch.
The study is being carried out with a $2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant awarded to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). It’s being conducted by consulting firm KeyLogic Systems and the Electric Power Research Institute in a partnership between the PUC and the economic development nonprofit Team Pennsylvania.
The goal is to narrow the list to five to seven sites with the best opportunities to quickly deploy new power generation and optimize investments to get the most out of existing infrastructure. That will help ensure the reliability of the region’s power grid as unprecedented demand from data centers and other large electricity users mounts, those carrying out the process say.
A hallway in the Schuylkill County Courthouse in Pottsville on March 12, 2026. (Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
By Ian Karbal
While Pennsylvania does not allow early voting as it exists in some other states, voters do have an opportunity between now and Oct. 27 to cast ballots in-person before election day.
According to the state’s top election official, the process is something he fields “a lot of questions about.”
“When you hear about early voting in Pennsylvania, or on-demand voting, or over-the-counter voting or anything like that, what they mean is voting by mail ballot in person at a board of elections office in your county,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. “It’s important to clarify this so that voters have the right set of expectations when showing up at a board of elections office. They won’t be voting the same way they would at their polling place on election day.”
Security personnel stand watch outside the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., in August. (Photo by Jonathan Shorman/Stateline)
By Carter Walker of Votebeat
The Department of Justice announced Monday that four Pennsylvania residents had been charged with noncitizen voting, part of the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on election crimes ahead of the 2026 midterms.
In the same announcement, the department said 12 individuals in other states were also charged with noncitizen-voting-related crimes.
There is no evidence the cases are related or that voter fraud is happening on a widespread or coordinated scale. The charges announced Monday bring the total number of individuals charged with noncitizen-voting-related crimes in Pennsylvania to 11 since September.
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A fuel pump on June 23, 2026. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
COMMENTARY
By Brian C. Black of The Conversation
The fall of 2026 is a moment of energy centrality, when geopolitics unfolding far away shows up in Americans’ everyday lives.
In Pennsylvania, the statewide diesel price averages US$6.50 per gallon. In Iowa, farmers are paying more than $6 a gallon for diesel. And in Alaska, unleaded gas runs more than $9 a gallon.
As a distinguished professor of history and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona, I write widely about oil and energy issues. This moment has me thinking about how the oil industry began nearly 170 years ago in northwestern Pennsylvania.
TODAY IN THE CAPITAL-STAR
Powered by spikes in energy prices, inflation surges to 3.7%: Inflation grew to a 3.7% annual rate in September, according to an Oct. 14 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 3.4% in August. September’s number was the highest since May. Spikes in energy prices were largely responsible: Gas is now up 34% for the year, and fuel oil, which includes diesel, is up 72%.
With fewer public defenders, indigent defendants pay the price: In Pennsylvania, a 2024 study found that in a typical year, the state’s 850 public defenders are assigned cases that would require 1,200 lawyers to provide adequate representation. Sixty of Pennsylvania’s 66 counties don’t have enough attorneys, the study found.
Watchdog recommends automated activation of ICE body cameras: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection need to improve oversight and guidance for federal immigration officers’ use of body-worn cameras, according to a Wednesday report from independent federal investigators.
‘Labor guides’ can help dispel myths pregnant women find online: Providing “labor guides” to pregnant women helps combat misinformation that an increasing number of patients are getting from social media or artificial intelligence, according to a recent study.
ICYMI
PJM Interconnection issues alerts warning of tight electricity supplies: The electricity grid operator for a broad swath of the mid-Atlantic and Midwest warned this week that warm weather and maintenance outages could push the system close to its limits.
Pa. nonprofits, businesses look to replace revenue from skill games: Businesses and nonprofits that house skill games are adjusting to a new reality after Pennsylvania lawmakers failed to reach a deal ahead of the state Supreme Court’s Oct. 13 deadline to regulate them.
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Social Security benefits increase will hit 3.6% in 2027: The Social Security Administration announced recipients will receive a 3.6% increase in benefits in 2027. The cost-of-living adjustment will begin for 72 million Social Security beneficiaries in January. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $75 a month.