FERC Must Reconsider Risks Posed by Data Centers to Power Grids
As regulators prepare level 3 alert over energy strain caused by data centers, FERC dismisses complaint that would require Federal interconnection moratorium
WASHINGTON — With the increasing energy needs of the summer rapidly approaching, Public Citizen today filed in two separate dockets with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voicing deep concerns over regulators’ push to integrate data centers into an energy system that cannot reliably accommodate such large loads.
In late March, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), America’s official electric reliability coordinator, announced it would issue a Level 3 Alert in May because of significant reliability concerns stemming from the rapid growth of data centers that are straining power grids.
Three days after NERC announced its intention to issue the alert, FERC dismissed a request from PJM’s independent market monitor that had requested that PJM, the regional transmission organization for most of Eastern Interconnection energy grid has the authority to impose a temporary moratorium on new data center interconnections until the region demonstrates that it has adequate transmission and generation capacity to serve such disruptive large loads.
In October 2025, the U.S. Secretary of Energy directed FERC to federalize data center interconnection for the purpose of expediting their connection to the interstate grid as being “in the public’s interest.” If adopted, the proposal would threaten state authority over energy aspects of data centers at a time when states are leading on consumer and environmental reforms for data centers.
“For the last year, Public Citizen has sounded the alarm to Congress and FERC that data centers pose unique reliability threats for the power grid,” said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program. “NERC’s announcement of a Level 3 Alert to prepare for reliability challenges posed by data centers is at odds with FERC’s dismissal of a request to impose a temporary moratorium on new data center interconnections.”
In today’s filing, Public Citizen called on FERC to reconsider the request from PMJ’s market monitor, asking FERC to accept the independent market monitor’s call for a moratorium on new data centers attached to the energy grid, and separately to clarify that NERC has the clear authority to subject these large energy loads to federal electric reliability standards.
“Requiring data centers to register with NERC would ensure accountability, improve oversight, and help prevent future threats to grid stability,” argues Public Citizen in its filing. “Subjecting data centers to federal reliability standards should include a requirement for RTOs to impose forced curtailment requirements on large loads as a tool to ensure grid reliability.”
According to the filing, FERC has fallen short of demonstrating its proposal to regulate data centers is in the public interest. Additionally, NERC has clearly established that AI data centers are having profound, negative impacts on grid reliability that require these facilities to be subject to federal electric reliability standards.
“Summer is coming, and the high temperatures driven by climate change mean our energy grids will already be under strain without the growth of data centers along the eastern seaboard,” said Slocum. “Regulators need to treat the threat data centers pose to the electrical grid seriously. Americans have not consented to the draconian takeover of our energy grids, society, culture, or economy by AI.”
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