Overview
- The administration and a bipartisan group of governors unveiled a plan urging PJM to hold a special auction offering 15-year contracts so technology companies finance new generation for AI-driven data centers.
- Officials described temporary measures including caps on what existing plants can charge and requirements that data centers pay for new capacity built on their behalf, even if they do not use the power.
- PJM did not attend the White House event, said it was reviewing the principles, and indicated its board would issue a decision Friday on integrating large new loads such as data centers.
- Reports say the proposed auction could support roughly $15 billion in new power plants, with governors from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia backing the push as consumers face higher electricity bills.
- Critics warn the plan does not fix slow interconnection and market-structure problems, noting grid bottlenecks highlighted by industry leaders and calling for durable reforms and faster deployment of resources like batteries and renewables.