On October 9, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled on a package of rules for very large new electricity users. FERC is the federal agency that approves the rules for wholesale power markets and the interstate grid. PJM, which runs the grid and power markets for 13 states and Washington, D.C., filed the package in August. FERC accepted two pieces and rejected the rest. Public Power PJM told FERC it expects demand to grow by 32 gigawatts from 2024 to 2030, with 30 gigawatts of that coming from AI data centers. Dominion Post
What did FERC accept?
FERC accepted PJM’s definition of a large load and a new registry of those loads, both effective October 12, 2026. Energy News Beat Under the definition, a large load is a customer whose combined peak demand reaches 50 megawatts or more at one site. A megawatt is a million watts, roughly the power a few hundred homes use at once. Affiliated buildings within one mile of each other count as a single site. Dominion Post
The definition covers factories as well as data centers. FERC declined to limit it to data centers, because both kinds of site affect the grid in much the same way. Dominion Post The registry will record each site’s location, power providers and in-service date. It will also record the ramp up schedule and backup generation. Data Center Dynamics
Why FERC turned down the curtailment plan
Under the rejected plan, a new site that did not line up new capacity equal to its own peak demand could still connect. Capacity means power plants and other resources committed in advance to be available on the grid’s hardest days. In return, the site’s utility could be told to curtail it, meaning cut its power use, in a supply emergency. That cut would have come before customers who are paid to reduce use voluntarily.
FERC said several provisions appeared to put duties directly on new large loads, which are mostly retail customers of local utilities. Other provisions appeared to choose which retail customers get cut, and the payment terms looked like a retail rate. States, not FERC, regulate retail service. Utility Dive FERC also found PJM had not shown the bring your own capacity rules were fair, and it pointed to gaps between PJM’s cover letter and its actual rule text. Public Power
| Item | Before the October 9 order | After the order |
|---|---|---|
| Large load definition | No regionwide definition in PJM’s rules | 50 megawatts or more at one site |
| Reporting | No central PJM list of large sites | Registry of location, supply and backup power |
| Cutting new sites first | PJM proposed it starting June 1, 2027 | Rejected |
| Bring your own capacity rules | PJM proposed them | Rejected |
| Auction demand from 2029/2030 | PJM proposed leaving out new sites without new supply | Rejected, so those sites stay counted |
What a developer has to do now
The registry is the only new obligation. Under PJM’s filing, the utility that sells power to the site reports the registry details. PJM can also ask the local distribution utility for missing information. PJM answer State utility commissions and FERC can see the registry under PJM’s confidentiality rules. PJM also plans to publish totals by zone. PJM answer
A developer should expect its utility to ask for this information early. FERC gave PJM 30 days to file cleaned up rule text. That period ends Sunday, November 8, so the filing is due Monday, November 9, 2026. Energy News Beat
What PJM and the states may still decide after FERC’s order
No PJM rule now requires a new site to bring its own capacity or to be cut off first. That could change. FERC rejected PJM’s separate definition of a new large load without prejudice, which leaves PJM free to try again. Dominion Post A PJM spokesman said the grid operator is reviewing the order with an eye to the duties FERC said belong to the states. Utility Dive
States hold the next move on curtailment. FERC urged state regulators to decide which retail customers are cut when the grid is stressed. One commissioner wrote that homes, hospitals and schools should never be cut before data centers that serve no critical function. Utility Dive
The December auction will run without the change PJM wanted. PJM had asked for an October 12 effective date so it could adjust demand for the 2029/2030 auction, scheduled for December 2026. Public Power
Tomorrow’s topic
FERC’s order on Duke Energy Carolinas’ large load network upgrade rules.