Overview
- PJM Interconnection has implemented a BYONG rule that requires any new single‑point load of 50 MW or more to secure incremental generation or accept priority curtailment during shortages, a change meant to stop data centers from shifting system costs onto other customers.
- Capacity prices in PJM have surged sharply, rising from around $28.92 per megawatt‑day in 2024/25 to about $329.17 in the 2026/27 auction, signaling growing strain on reserve margins and higher system costs.
- The White House expanded its voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge to more than 200 utilities, developers and states that it says now cover roughly 80% of U.S. electricity deliveries, a nonbinding effort to have developers pay for new generation and grid upgrades.
- The Department of Energy announced on Wednesday a plan to redevelop the Paducah, Kentucky site for an AI campus that would include roughly 2 GW of natural gas generation and 2.6 GW of battery storage, illustrating a federal push to use leased federal land to fast‑track capacity.
- Local and state backlash is widespread with more than 300 local bans or moratoria and at least one statewide pause in New York, while analysts warn that building transmission lines, large transformers and new generation often takes years to a decade, risking higher bills, pollution near sites that use on‑site gas turbines, and stretched grid reliability.