Republicans keen on protecting states’ rights in energy infrastructure planning are keeping a close eye on Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s plan to speed up power grid connections for data centers.
Last week, Wright directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to initiate a rulemaking by April 30 aimed at accelerating the interconnection of large electric loads — including data centers — to help meet surging artificial intelligence demand.
The directive has prompted some pushback, with former FERC Chair Mark Christie warning it could mark “an unprecedented expansion of federal control and intrusion” on states’ regulatory authority. He added that “the devil will be in the details.”
Now, a few lawmakers appear to share at least some of Christie’s measured skepticism.
“I think there’s a sweet spot somewhere,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a former member of that state’s Public Service Commission. “Whether FERC is hitting that spot? I’m not certain.”
Cramer continued, “We have to strike a balance that doesn’t completely dismiss a state’s rights or, you know, reduce the importance of or diminish the importance of a planning process.”
North Dakota’s all-Republican congressional delegation — Cramer, Sen. John Hoeven and Rep. Julie Fedorchak — has been steadfast in preserving the state’s planning autonomy.
Last month, the trio sent a letter to then-FERC Chair David Rosner urging the agency to avoid assigning the costs of large regional transmission projects to North Dakotans who would not directly benefit.
The issue could even draw the eyes of a Senate Republican not typically immersed in FERC policy. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has been a critic of data centers, calling them “massive electricity hogs” that could drive up power bills.
“I’d definitely want to take a look at that. … I’m concerned about what data centers are doing — even in my state — to costs,” Hawley said. He said that he had not yet seen Wright’s specific proposal.
In his letter to FERC, Wright emphasized that the proposal seeks to avoid “even arguably affecting” states’ rights by limiting FERC’s jurisdiction to interconnections made directly to transmission facilities.
Fedorchak, who is a strong proponent of state autonomy, largely welcomed Wright’s plan.
“While I’m still evaluating the details of this proposal, I fully support testing new approaches to large-load interconnection,” Fedorchak said. “This is an entirely new challenge, and our existing regulatory system is not equipped with the tools to handle it.”
Cramer, despite some reservations, called the move a good opening salvo on the issue. He said he especially wants to ensure states have a pathway to appeal FERC decisions, even when the agency appears to have a strong legal claim to jurisdiction.
“I trust this FERC, but I’ll be watching very closely and be weighing in a lot as this develops,” Cramer said.
Reporter Francisco “A.J.” Camacho contributed.
This story also appears in Energywire.
