Rule Reform Has Started: ANOPR as the Starting Point
Data center grid interconnection is now moving from the institutional side. In October 2025, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC) issued an ANOPR(Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) on large-load interconnection. This is an official process asking how the entry point for interconnection should be redesigned. FERC says it is reviewing more than 3,500 pages of comments filed in the docket and will state its response by June 2026. The issue has moved beyond individual grid-operator decisions and into a federal-level review of the interconnection rules themselves.
Why Now: PJM Demand Rises 70GW in 15 Years
The background is a step change in demand. PJM, one of North America's largest grid operators, projects that summer peak demand will increase by about 70GW over the next 15 years and reach 220GW. Within that, power demand from data centers is expected to rise by as much as 30GW during 2025-2030 alone. New data center siting is constrained less by land or power contracts than by the time required to connect to the grid, and the demand surge is putting additional pressure on the interconnection queue.
Can Speed and Household Rate Protection Coexist?
FERC's move is not only about speed. In December 2025, it ordered PJM to clarify rules for co-located load and has been pushing standardization of the interconnection process. At the same time, it has included the Ratepayer Protection Pledge announced in March 2026 in its review, searching for a design that can accelerate large-load interconnection while limiting spillover into residential electricity rates. Whether faster interconnection and fair cost allocation can coexist will determine the success of the reform.
Implications for Design and Siting
For operators, standardization and shortening of the interconnection process could bring previously abandoned sites back into consideration. At the same time, the inclusion of ratepayer protection may affect cost-allocation design for large-load customers. Physical constraints such as transformer shortages(why data center transformers have long lead times) and institutional constraints such as interconnection rules need to be tracked together.
Rules
FERC is redesigning interconnection rules through an ANOPR issued in October 2025. It is reviewing more than 3,500 pages of comments and plans action by June 2026.
Demand
PJM summer peak demand is projected to rise by about 70GW over 15 years to 220GW. Data centers alone could add up to 30GW during 2025-2030.
Fairness
Ratepayer protection(March 2026 Ratepayer Protection Pledge) is being reviewed alongside acceleration, affecting cost-allocation design.