The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday directed the regional electric grid operators it oversees to reassess their rules for bringing very large energy consumers onto the systems, citing growing strain from data centers that is pushing electricity use to record highs.
In draft "show cause" orders, FERC told the six regional grids under its jurisdiction - jurisdictions that do not include Texas - to either justify their existing approaches or to overhaul them. The orders respond to mounting demand from server warehouses, which are requiring more power across broad areas than some grids can reliably supply and have prompted regulators to act.
FERC's action follows a directive issued last year by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright aimed at speeding connections for data centers. That earlier direction framed expedited connections as part of a national objective to compete globally in developing and deploying new artificial intelligence technologies.
"This is a race against time, and we are going to win," FERC Chairman Laura Swett said. "This is the biggest priority our country is facing at the moment."
The commission's draft orders require grid operators and transmission owners to respond within 60 days. In that response they must either defend their current rules as justified or indicate changes they will make across five main categories identified by FERC.
Among the categories FERC highlighted are the need for clear processes to connect very large energy users - such as data centers - and the allocation of costs to those large customers for the transmission and other infrastructure required to serve them. The orders stop short of prescribing specific fixes in public text, instead demanding that grid operators explain the rationale for their existing practices or propose alternatives addressing the listed categories.
Regulators say the directive is intended to address situations where demand from server facilities is outpacing available supply and to ensure the connection process and cost-sharing mechanisms are fit for purpose as data center deployments rise. Grid operators and transmission owners now face a fixed window to provide the commission with the justifications or commitments FERC has requested.
Observers and market participants will be watching the responses from the six regional grids, and whether the exchanges lead to changes in interconnection rules, cost allocation, or the pace at which very large energy users can be brought onto the system.