Ethan Howland

Meanwhile, the PJM Interconnection’s plan to delay an upcoming capacity auction “sends a clear message that [market] reform is definitely needed,” CEO Calvin Butler said.

Capacity concerns come amid a surge in data center development, with FirstEnergy receiving more than 60 service inquiries larger than 500 MW this year.

Rosner said his top priorities are grid reliability balanced with affordability, managing the energy transition and supporting gas and transmission infrastructure development.

Chairman Willie Phillips dissented from the decision on the “first of its kind” co-location proposal, saying it could harm national security and grid reliability.

Google is interested in colocation to meet its data center needs, not to avoid grid costs, said Brian George, the company's U.S. federal lead for global energy market development.

Google is interested in colocation to meet its data center needs, not to avoid grid costs, said Brian George, the company's U.S. federal lead for global energy market development.

New data center interconnection rules are being considered in Arizona and Virginia, officials said Sunday at a NARUC conference.

Regulatory structures are designed to prevent rapid buildouts — partly in response to previous power sector overbuilds — but “suddenly we need to go fast,” MISO’s Clair Moeller said.

“We've got to have something else to keep the lights on … and right now, the best option that we have for generation over the next several years looks like it's natural gas,” SPP’s Bruce Rew said.

“Five years ago, people thought grid-enhancing technologies were unproven and risky,” DOE’s Jigar Shah said. “Today, I think people believe that they're mainstream enough to deploy at scale.”