According to Utility Dive, a significant regulatory fight is escalating over how to connect massive new data center loads to the nation’s largest power grid, PJM. The conflict involves multiple filings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in late November and early December. PJM’s independent market monitor, Monitoring Analytics, filed a complaint asking FERC to declare that PJM can require new large data centers to wait in a queue or even supply their own new generation if the grid lacks adequate resources. In response, trade groups like the Data Center Coalition (DCC) and Partners for Progress (P3) jointly filed to dismiss this complaint, calling it flawed and a distraction that will slow everything down. Meanwhile, power generator Constellation filed a motion on November 21 for expedited action on PJM’s rules, which PJM and its transmission owners, including utilities from Exelon and FirstEnergy, urged FERC to ignore, warning it would cause market uncertainty and affordability concerns.
The Great Grid Brawl
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just some boring procedural squabble. It’s a fundamental fight about who pays and who waits when a single new facility can consume as much power as a medium-sized city. The market monitor’s idea—making data centers bring their own power plants to the party—is incredibly controversial. On one hand, you can see the logic. Why should existing ratepayers potentially foot the bill for billions in new transmission lines just so a tech giant can build its AI cloud? But on the other hand, that approach basically tells the fastest-growing source of electricity demand to go solve the grid’s generation problem itself. I think that’s a non-starter for the industry. And it would absolutely slow deployment to a crawl.
Uncertainty Is The Killer
What everyone seems to agree on, though, is that this fight creates paralyzing uncertainty. The DCC and P3 trade groups nailed it in their filing: forcing everyone to brief a complaint that “must be dismissed” is a waste of time when we can least afford it. But PJM and the transmission owners are arguing Constellation’s push for expedited rules is just as bad—it would “preempt” both national rules and PJM’s own board-led process. So you’ve got a circular firing squad: the monitor wants one thing, the generators want another, the grid operator wants to run its own process, and the data centers just want a clear path to plug in. This is how major infrastructure projects die—not with a bang, but with endless regulatory delay.
Broader Implications
This PJM fight is just the opening act. The Department of Energy is looking at national rules for large load interconnection, and what happens here will set a precedent. The transmission owners warned that doing PJM’s rules first is “a recipe for market uncertainty.” They’re right. If every regional grid makes up its own playbook, the chaos will stifle investment in the very energy infrastructure we need. We’re talking about a fundamental shift. Data centers and other large industrial loads, like those requiring robust computing for automation, aren’t a passing trend; they’re the new baseline demand. And reliably powering this new industrial landscape requires stable, predictable rules. For industries deploying critical hardware, from massive data halls to factory floors using advanced industrial panel PCs for control and monitoring, consistent power is non-negotiable. The leading suppliers of that industrial hardware depend on a grid that’s both robust and rationally managed.
What Comes Next?
So where does this leave us? Probably in for a long, messy process at FERC. The commission now has dueling petitions—one to *create* a new authority (the monitor’s complaint) and others to *dismiss or delay* any action. FERC’s decision will send a massive signal. Will they lean toward making load growth self-fund its grid impacts? Or will they seek a more traditional, albeit accelerated, planning model where costs are socialized? The outcome will either unlock the next wave of digital infrastructure or put a major chill on it. One thing’s for sure: the era of quietly adding a few megawatts here and there is over. Every new connection is a heavyweight negotiation now.
