FERC Orders Major Grid Operators to Rewrite Rules for Gigawatt-Scale Data Center Loads
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued show-cause orders to the six largest US grid operators, directing them to defend or rewrite interconnection rules for gigawatt-scale electricity loads, according to Data Center Knowledge's July 2026 roundup.
The orders set deadlines for markets to define processes for handling large load requests, evaluating co-located generation, assigning upgrade costs, and confirming sufficient generation is available before projects come online — rules that directly affect how much of the cost burden falls on existing residential customers.
This follows a December 2025 FERC directive to PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for 13 mid-Atlantic states, to adopt transmission service rules specifically tailored to data centers, according to industry tracking from iRecruit's power and energy news roundup.
In March 2026, seven major technology companies signed a White House-facilitated Ratepayer Protection Pledge committing to directly fund grid infrastructure improvements tied to their own data center demand, a step regulators and consumer advocates are now watching to see enforced.
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