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Key developments
FERC orders RTOs to overhaul large-load tariffs
Mondaq's Bruce Grabow reported that FERC issued separate show-cause orders to ISO-NE, NYISO, PJM, MISO, SPP and CAISO, preliminarily finding their tariff treatment of large loads unjust and unreasonable. The orders seek faster data-center power access through clearer transmission options, co-location and behind-the-meter protocols, paired generation-load studies targeted at 60–90 days, grid-enhancing technologies, improved load forecasting and large-load impact studies. RTOs and ISOs must file resource-adequacy status within 30 days and answer FERC's findings within 60 days, with cost-recovery agreements and financial security intended to protect other customers.
Why it matters
This is a direct federal intervention into the biggest bottleneck for AI data center expansion: getting large loads connected without shifting grid costs to existing ratepayers.
Sources & driving stories
MONDAQ · Bruce Grabow
Mondaq coverageRatepayer cost shields advance in Washington and Ohio
Datacenterdynamics' Zachary Skidmore reported that Reps. Kathy Castor and Gabe Evans introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act to require 100MW-plus large-load customers to pay the full generation, transmission and grid-upgrade costs needed to serve them, backed by financial assurances against stranded costs. AOL's Charna Flam reported that a House subcommittee voted June 24 to advance H.R. 9430 to the full Energy and Commerce Committee. In Ohio, House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn and Democratic leaders urged Gov. Mike DeWine on June 25 to work with PUCO on a statewide data center rate class before PJM's fall procurement process allocates costs for new power.
Why it matters
Cost allocation is becoming a gating policy issue for data center growth, with federal and state officials moving to make large-load customers pay their own grid impacts.
Sources & driving stories
DATACENTERDYNAMICS · Zachary Skidmore
Datacenterdynamics coverageAOL · Charna Flam
Aol coverageOHIO HOUSE
Ohio House coverageAnthropic and Amazon expand overseas AI capacity
CNBC's Kai Nicol-Schwarz reported that Anthropic is hiring 13 compute-department roles, eight of them in Australia or Japan, including Australia-based data center engineers/operators and Japan-based deal-sourcing and electrical-engineering roles; one Australia energy listing cites multi-hundred-megawatt procurement. Separately, CNBC's Priyanka Salve and The Register's Lindsay Clark reported that Amazon plans another $13 billion for AI and cloud infrastructure in India, lifting planned 2026–2030 investment to $48 billion and expanding AWS data center capacity in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Analysts cited grid availability, power access, secure supply chains and regulatory conditions as decisive constraints.
Why it matters
AI infrastructure growth is pushing major operators toward international capacity markets where power, land, political stability and regulatory risk now shape site selection.
Sources & driving stories
CNBC · Kai Nicol-Schwarz
CNBC coverageCNBC · Priyanka Salve
CNBC coverageTHE REGISTER · Lindsay Clark
The Register coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Local siting resistance hardens
KWQC reported St. Charles, Missouri has moved from a one-year data center ban to a permanent ban, while Festus voters ousted four pro-data-center candidates; Pennsylvania's House also passed H.B. 2496 to let municipalities pause applications for up to six months, and WFSU reported Wakulla and Jackson counties in Florida have passed bans.
WORTH NOTING
Grid-flexible AI compute gets quantified
Chris Williams' arXiv article describes a real 130 kW GPU-cluster deployment capable of rapid load reduction, sustained curtailment and carbon-aware operation, while University of Utah researchers reported WESTMAP.AI estimates of $62 million to $590 million in annual Western Interconnection savings from temporal, spatial and on-site-resource flexibility.
WORTH NOTING
Study finds housing and utility drag
A new SSRN paper using staggered difference-in-differences analysis finds data center development is associated with slower local housing-price growth, higher electricity consumption and prices, little evidence of employment or property-tax gains, and wider utility municipal-bond spreads.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Can FERC speed-to-power survive RTO specifics?
The orders set aggressive 30- and 60-day response timelines, but each RTO/ISO has different resource-adequacy, transmission and co-location constraints that may limit uniform implementation.
OPEN QUESTION
Will cost shields change site selection?
If federal and state rules force data centers to internalize generation and grid-upgrade costs, developers may favor jurisdictions with clearer tariffs, faster interconnection and lower upgrade exposure.