FERC wants more guidance on colocated data centers

The U.S. Energy regulators directed the largest grid operator in the country to clarify how it deals with co-location. This arrangement is becoming increasingly popular for AI data centers, allowing them to be connected directly to power plants.

Co-location is a faster way to get large amounts of energy, rather than spending years waiting in line to connect to the grid.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stated in an order that the current guidance provided by grid operator PJM Interconnection on co-location appears to be inadequate.

FERC gave PJM Interconnection - which covers 13 States and the District of Columbia - 30 days to explain whether its colocation rates and other terms of services were adequate or suggest changes.

The FERC stated that "the absence of this data may leave generators unable to decide what steps they can make to establish co-location arrangements in various configurations and how to do it in an acceptable manner."

The U.S. electric demand is at record levels due to the massive energy consumption of data centers.

FERC commissioner David Rosner said that PJM expects to add 30 gigawatts in peak load over the next five-year period.

Rosner said, "That's staggering." One gigawatt of electricity is enough to run all the homes within a city as large as Philadelphia.

Constellation Energy filed a complaint with FERC in November against the regional operator PJM Interconnection, claiming that PJM's inadequate guidance on colocated loads has allowed electric utilities to unfairly thwart efforts to build data centres at their nuclear facilities.

(source: Reuters)