Overview
- PJM’s board will vote Wednesday on competing plans for how rapidly expanding data centers connect to the regional grid.
- A leading Protect Ratepayers plan would require developers to secure matching generation before receiving firm service and would curtail unsupplied centers first during shortages.
- Bipartisan lawmakers and local officials, including D.C.’s Charles Allen, joined about 60 advocacy and watchdog groups in urging a Bring Your Own Generation approach.
- Backers cite projections of 32 to 60 gigawatts of added demand and warn typical household bills could rise by up to $70 per month by 2028 without new limits.
- PJM says it is considering 12 proposals as it balances reliability and costs, with infrastructure needs estimated at $163 billion by 2030 and growing local pushback to new transmission lines in Maryland.