BRIEFINGS · Grid rules
FERC rejects the core of PJM's plan for plugging in new data centers
FERC's 9 Oct order threw out PJM's plan to let data centers plug in early, keeping only a 50 MW large-load definition and a registry. PJM may refile.
On 9 October 2026 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected most of PJM Interconnection's plan for connecting data centers and other big new power users to its grid. FERC is the independent federal agency that regulates interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas and oil. PJM runs the high-voltage grid and the wholesale electricity market for all or parts of 13 states and Washington, DC, from New Jersey to Illinois.
FERC accepted only two pieces of PJM's August filing: a definition of a large load as 50 megawatts or more at one site (a megawatt measures how much electricity a site can draw), and a registry to track large loads. It rejected the rest, including the Interim Resource Adequacy Service, known as IRAS, and the rules for big users to bring their own new power plants.
IRAS was PJM's answer to a simple problem: data center requests are arriving faster than new power plants. Under IRAS, a new large user could plug in before matching power supply existed, as long as it agreed to be cut off first when the grid got tight.
FERC said those parts were either outside its authority or not shown to be fair and reasonable. It said some rules would put duties directly on large users, who are mostly retail customers regulated by states, and that "states have a crucial role to play" in deciding who is cut off first. Commissioner David Rosner agreed with the order in a separate statement. PJM said it is reviewing the order.
Why we file it. This is a roadblock: the fast lane PJM designed for new data centers is gone, and no replacement is approved. It also cuts both ways, because it removes a mandatory cut-first rule for new data centers too. Energy and the grid stays yellow on the map and data centers stay red.
Why it matters to you: power for new AI data centers in this region now waits on new rules, and the same grid serves the homes, schools and hospitals there.
What would change this: PJM refiling a large-load plan that FERC approves, states setting clear cut-first rules, or a named data center project delayed for lack of power.
What this evidence does not establish
FERC rejected these parts without prejudice, so PJM may refile; timing is unknown. States may set their own rules on which customers are cut off first. No named data center project is reported delayed or canceled because of this order. The vote count is not reported.
What to watch next
- PJM refiling a large-load or IRAS-style proposal at FERC
- PJM's revised backstop power procurement and whether FERC lets it start
- A PJM state setting rules on which large users are cut off first
- A named PJM data center project delayed for lack of power
Sources
- Order Accepting Tariff Revisions in Part and Rejecting Tariff Revisions in Part re PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. under ER26-35159 October 2026
- FERC Accepts Elements of PJM Proposal Tied to Large Loads, Rejects Others13 October 2026
- FERC rejects most of PJM's large load interconnection plan12 October 2026
Every figure above comes from these sources. Every briefing is checked against its sources before it publishes. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything, and Acts of Evolution is not an investment adviser. See the disclosures.
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