- PJM Interconnection proposed requiring large data centers to use backup generators during severe grid shortages.
- The measures aim to manage rising data-center demand without shifting costs and reliability risks to households.
PJM Interconnection has proposed new measures that would require large data centers to use backup generators when electricity supplies come under severe pressure. The proposal targets a growing challenge for the US power sector. Data centers are expanding rapidly, while grid operators face tighter electricity supplies and rising demand.
PJM operates the power system serving about 67 million people. Its territory stretches from Washington, D.C., to Chicago. Under the proposed emergency procedure, utilities could ask data centers and other major power users to reduce or shift their electricity consumption. The measure would come before any steps to cut power to households and other traditional consumers.
PJM does not currently have direct authority to reduce electricity supplies to data centers. The grid operator would therefore need cooperation from state governments to implement the measure.
The proposal also supports President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge. PJM said the initiative aims to prevent residential customers from bearing the cost of rising electricity demand from data centers. The issue has become more urgent as artificial intelligence and other digital services drive rapid data centre expansion.
PJM’s latest capacity auction highlighted the pressure on the grid. Electricity prices reached the $325-per-megawatt-day price cap.
Despite those high prices, the market still fell about 6.8 gigawatts short of PJM’s reliability requirement for expected demand. That gap has raised concerns about the risk of future power shortages. It could also increase costs for consumers if utilities need to build more generation to meet data center demand.
PJM has proposed another measure to improve oversight. The grid operator wants to create a registry covering data centers and other major electricity users. The registry would track their locations and power consumption. PJM could then use the information to better assess demand and plan future grid investments. The proposal comes as data center growth creates growing tensions in several parts of PJM’s territory.
Virginia faces particular pressure because it hosts the world’s largest concentration of data centers. Some residents have raised concerns about noise, development and rising electricity costs.
For PJM, the challenge is becoming increasingly clear: the grid must accommodate rapidly growing data center demand without shifting the financial and reliability burden onto ordinary electricity users.