FERC rejected PJM’s data center curtailment plan. What’s next for BYOC?

Federal regulators just turned down a plan from PJM, the grid operator covering much of the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest, that would have let it cut power to data centers and other huge electricity users that hadn't lined up their own power supply. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said the plan stepped on states' authority and unfairly targeted big new users of electricity. Regulators did approve a related piece: a registry that will track all large power users of 50 megawatts or more, giving states better data to set their own rules.

This mostly affects how data centers and the grid operator sort out who pays for new power plants as electricity demand grows, but it carries a thread that touches homeowners. One commissioner noted that in a real emergency, data centers not performing critical functions should lose power before regular households, hospitals, and schools do. He said it should be up to state regulators, not the grid operator, to decide exactly how that curtailment order works. So the rules that determine whether your home or neighborhood gets protected in a supply crunch will likely be written at the state level, not by PJM.

For now, the fight continues. PJM can submit a reworked plan, but FERC laid out tough conditions, including proof that targeting large users specifically is justified and that any new power these companies line up can actually reach them given transmission limits. Until a new plan is approved, uncertainty around how costs and risks are divided between data centers and everyday ratepayers remains unresolved.