The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is planning to take up a high-profile co-location proceeding for the PJM Interconnection at next week’s open meeting.
This long-anticipated proceeding comes as the energy regulator is facing pressure from the Trump administration to speed the rollout of power-hungry data centers to support artificial intelligence development. Utilities, data center developers, state entities and consumer advocacy groups are watching FERC’s response, with co-location — or the linking of a data center to a nearby power plant — emerging as a key issue.
At issue is how the PJM Interconnection will address the transmission links to the broader electrical grid for those power plants that are co-located to a data center.
Advisory firm Capstone projects that FERC will issue an order paving the way for behind-the-meter load arrangements, handing a win to nuclear and natural gas plants seeking contracts to deliver power to data centers.
