Overview
- PJM’s Board of Directors will decide Wednesday how to manage data‑center interconnections, with the grid operator saying it has received a dozen proposals through its fast‑track process.
- The bipartisan Protect Ratepayers plan would require data centers to bring their own generation and delay firm PJM service until they do, a framework supported by NRDC and a coalition of state and local officials.
- Sixty advocacy and watchdog groups urged the board to adopt a 'Bring Your Own Clean Energy' approach in a letter sent Monday backing the Protect Ratepayers proposal.
- Forecasts cited by lawmakers put new large‑load demand at 32 to as much as 60 gigawatts, with some officials warning typical customers could see bills rise by roughly $70 a month if no safeguards are adopted.
- The proposal’s reliability provisions would make data centers the first to be curtailed during shortages unless they secure their own capacity, a change supporters say could avert costly grid expansions estimated at $163 billion by 2030.