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PJM Faces Data Center Power Strain
Coverage from The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and others
Articles
60
Active Days
82
The Topic
Data center demand is adding pressure to PJM Interconnection as the regional grid approaches record peaks, faces transmission congestion, and secures less reserve capacity than required by its reliability standard. The strain is increasing wholesale and industrial electricity costs while prompting emergency curtailment authority, new market rules, and scrutiny of how large loads connect to the grid. Developers and power companies are responding through project revisions, onsite generation, and acquisitions of generation-connected sites, but available capacity remains limited.
First Article: 05/07/26
Latest Article: 07/27/26
Summary
- PJM forecast or approached demand above 165 GW during July heat, with emergency conservation measures used to protect reserves.
- Northern Virginia transmission congestion contributed to wholesale prices above $2,000 per MWh during periods of grid stress.
- PJM capacity prices have risen more than 1,000% since 2024, while the latest auction remained about 6.8 GW below its reliability requirement.
- Manufacturers in Ohio and Pennsylvania reported sharply higher capacity-related electricity costs as data center demand expanded.
- The Department of Energy authorized PJM to curtail certain large loads with backup generation during emergencies.
- PJM and regulators are considering new rules to manage large-load connections, cost allocation, onsite generation, and reserve procurement.
- QTS withdrew its Virginia Digital Gateway filings, while Mara pursued a generation-linked data center strategy at Long Ridge in Ohio.
History
The story now adds concrete project-level responses to PJM stress, with data center developers revising or withdrawing plans and at least one operator pursuing a generation-linked site strategy. That shifts the narrative from systemwide strain and policy debate to how specific projects are being reshaped by congestion, costs, and grid-access constraints.
The story has shifted from a cost-allocation dispute into a broader reliability and market-stress problem: PJM is now dealing with record demand, capacity shortfalls, and emergency curtailment as data center load rises. The latest auction and price data show the issue is already driving materially higher costs for customers and industrial users.
Featured
07-24-2026
Ting Labs said about 3 GW of Data Center Alley demand in northern Virginia disconnected Wednesday, destabilizing the power grid for several minutes.
07-03-2026
PJM issued emergency demand-response orders during a heat wave to prevent outages as transmission congestion and generator outages reduced reserve margins in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
07-02-2026
PJM Interconnection forecasts record peak electricity demand during a heat wave as data-center growth increases congestion and reserve costs, while QTS withdraws a Virginia project filing.
Timeline: 82 Days
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Additional Articles
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DOE authorized PJM during a heat wave to require data centers across multiple states, including Pennsylvania, to use backup generators with permitting waivers for reliability.
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Belden Brick reported higher capacity charges in Sugarcreek, Ohio as PJM capacity prices surged in 2025, driven by regional data-center electricity demand growth.
PJM Interconnection reported near-capacity-auction record pricing around $325 per megawatt-day in a reliability-shortfall year driven by rising data-center power demand.
DOE issued an emergency Federal Power Act section 202(c) order for PJM Interconnection to curtail backup-equipped large loads for three hot-weather days starting May 18 in Maryland and Virginia.
Monitoring Analytics asked FERC to require Mara Holdings to keep Long Ridge generation in PJM markets if the agency approves the proposed $1.5 billion sale tied to growing data center load.
Joseph Bowring of Monitoring Analytics reported data centers caused 38% of PJM Interconnection's latest capacity auction charges and urged a FERC-filed September backstop auction.
FERC plans a July 23 technical conference with PJM to resolve tariff and jurisdiction responsibilities for data center load growth under the Federal Power Act.
PJM and regional utilities reported record July peak demand during extreme heat, while demand-response and backup-generation arrangements were cited as limiting brownout risk.
Federal and state officials scheduled July 23 talks on PJM reforms as AI-driven data center load growth raises PJM prices and capacity costs.
PJM Interconnection reported a 2028/2029 capacity auction shortfall and plans a September FERC backstop procurement as Virginia data center load grows.
PJM released annual auction results on June 30, projecting $6.3 billion in added electricity costs over three years driven by data-center peak power demand across 13 Eastern states and DC.
PJM Interconnection said grid strain from data center demand and delayed generation additions requires market design changes that may curtail power to new large-load customers during peaks.
Monitoring Analytics and PJM reported data-center-driven demand raising PJM capacity charges in the June 2028 to May 2029 auction while PJM sought backstop procurement for reliability shortfalls.
DOE issued Emergency Order No. 202-26-23 on May 18, 2026, enabling PJM to direct data-center backup generation during Level 3 alerts in the PJM region.
DOE approved a PJM Interconnection request to potentially require Virginia data centers to run backup diesel generators during extreme-heat demand peaks.
On July 2, PJM Interconnection issued emergency alerts during a heat wave but did not order power cuts to data centers in Northern Virginia, avoiding planned generator-based contingency.
PJM Interconnection reported a 6.8-gigawatt capacity shortfall in its latest auction for the second year, prompting Ohio lawmakers to advance bills addressing data-center driven electricity costs and forecast scrutiny.
DOE approved PJM Interconnection emergency authority from July 1 to July 3 to direct data centers and other large users to backup generators during record heat-driven demand in Ohio.
Dominion Energy and PJM reported that an Ashburn, Virginia transmission fault triggered more than 3 GW of hyperscale data center load to disconnect and transfer to backup power within seconds.
Monitoring Analytics quantified data centers as a major driver of PJM capacity charges while PJM missed reliability targets despite maximum-price capacity auctions.
Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel filed a FERC complaint against PJM Interconnection over transmission cost allocation tied to projected data center load growth.
PJM reported a reliability imbalance after a Northern Virginia transmission line fault caused about 3 GW of data center load to drop between 7:55 and 8:00 a.m.
PJM and other U.S. ISOs issued emergency grid alerts as data centers and broader demand growth tightened power reserves during hot, humid weather.
PJM issued emergency load management and maximum generation alerts during extreme East Coast heat, while DOE authorized PJM backup generation at data centers.
PJM released a white paper proposing reliability-focused power market design changes as large-load data centers expand across its US territory.
In Ohio, PUCO approved an AEP Ohio data center tariff in July 2025 as residents and advocates debate PJM grid strain and rising electricity bills.
PJM advanced a backstop reliability auction from March to September and urged member states to define auction cost allocation for new data center loads.
FERCs December 2025 order to PJM adds non-firm interconnection and dedicated on-site generation pathways as PJM forecasts 30 GW of new demand by 2030.
Eighty Maryland state lawmakers backed a May 7 FERC complaint arguing PJM transmission cost allocation for data-center-serving projects shifts costs to Maryland ratepayers, with comments due July 27.
PJM Interconnection reported a 2028-2029 capacity auction clearing at the 325 per MW-day cap as data centers increased forecast demand and reserve adequacy shortfalls persisted.
Monitoring Analytics reported sharp PJM wholesale price and capacity cost increases in the first quarter, citing AI data center load that tightens supply and stresses planning.
During a heat dome, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a 2026 emergency order enabling PJM to direct large data centers toward onsite backup generators to protect grid capacity.
On May 27 and May 13, 2026, Pennsylvania issued GRID standards and a PUC model tariff for large-load data centers while PJM reported capacity-market scarcity pressures.
Dominion Energy and PJM reported a transmission line outage in northern Virginia caused over 3 GW of data center load to drop offline on Wednesday, with backup power transfer and voltage disturbances extending to Chicago.
Maryland Office of People's Counsel filed an FERC complaint in 2026 contesting PJM hybrid transmission cost allocation rules that allocate data-center-driven grid costs to Maryland ratepayers.
Maryland People''s Counsel David Lapp urged PJM in Baltimore to exclude projected data center load growth from markets and transmission planning after an OPC filing at FERC challenged Maryland transmission cost assignment rules.
Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, joined by consumer advocates from Ohio, Delaware, and Illinois, sought FERC clarification in 2026 on PJM data-center transmission cost allocation.
Senator Mark Warner backed the Power for the People Act in response to Virginia electricity price impacts from data-center growth tied to PJM reliability and utility cost allocation.
PJM Interconnection expects Thursday demand of about 166,147 MW and gained emergency authority to curtail data center and backup-generator load if needed.
PJM Interconnection requested U.S. Department of Energy emergency authority to require data centers to use backup generators during a Maryland heat wave through Friday.
Ohio Manufacturers Association told PUCO of Ohio that AES Ohio data center tariff terms could leave other customers exposed to transmission upgrade costs.
Monitoring Analytics warned PJM Interconnection that data center load is driving higher wholesale and capacity costs ahead of the June 2026 base residual auction.
Maryland governor Wes Moore pushed PJM Interconnection reforms on May 11, proposing long-term contracts and added data-center cost responsibility as capacity prices surged.
Maryland People's Counsel filed a FERC complaint against PJM Interconnection over transmission cost allocation for data-center driven load growth.
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DOE Secretary Chris Wright approved PJM air pollution standard exemptions for data centers using backup power during July 1-3 amid extreme heat.
U.S. Energy Department authorized PJM to require data centers to use onsite backup power during an extreme heat wave across 13 states and Washington, D.C.
PJM Interconnection faced record power demand during July 2 heat, as AI data center load intensified grid reliability stress across multiple US RTO regions.
PJM Interconnection and the Trump administration authorized emergency measures during an extreme heatwave, requiring data centers to activate backup generation through July 3.
PJM Interconnection received a U.S. Department of Energy emergency order on an ongoing heatwave to require backup generators through July 3, affecting AI data centers.
PJM asked the U.S. Department of Energy for an emergency reliability order that, during extreme heat, allows PJM to require data centers to switch to backup generators.
PJM Interconnection requested DOE action during a US heatwave after lawmakers and communities raised concerns about AI data center power and water strain.
Maryland candidates linked higher residential electric bills to data center load growth and supported the Utility RELIEF Act signed in May, with costs and grid upgrades targeted to developers.
Maryland primary candidates in 2026 surveyed by the University of Maryland-backed Local News Network largely backed tighter regulations on data center development amid rising residential electricity bills.
PJM projected $6.3 billion higher power costs for 13 eastern states and D.C. over three years, citing data centers as the primary peak-demand driver amid New Yorks hyperscale moratorium.
Maryland enacted the Utility RELIEF Act in 2026, requiring data centers to register with the Public Service Commission and pay for grid connection upgrades.
Buckeye Power and Ohio's Electric Cooperatives developed a data-center load and cost-allocation process in Ohio to prevent existing members from bearing new grid and power costs.
Eighty bipartisan Maryland lawmakers urged FERC to limit transmission cost pass-through tied to out-of-state data center demand, citing projected $2 billion in higher Maryland bills.