America’s largest power grid has been warned that a surge in new data centers is deepening an energy crisis that could put 13 states at risk of blackouts.
The US Department of Energy declared an emergency on Tuesday and temporarily eased pollution regulations in an urgent effort to keep electricity flowing to millions of Americans.
The move comes as PJM Interconnection confronts rapidly rising electricity demand from data centers. The grid operator expects their power consumption in its Midwest and Mid-Atlantic territory to triple by 2030, reaching roughly 29 gigawatts.
PJM manages electricity supplies for 67 million people across Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington DC.
That accelerating demand is colliding with years of declining net electricity supplies across the region. The imbalance has helped drive capacity costs up by more than 1,000 percent since 2024, while creating a 6.8-gigawatt shortfall that could trigger blackouts.
By 2030, PJM could face a ‘loss of load expectation’—the projected number of days or hours each year when electricity demand surpasses available generation capacity—between six and 100 times worse than the grid operator anticipated, according to a study commissioned by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
The study found that PJM would meet its reliability expectations only in a scenario where no additional data centers are built.
“This analysis sends a clear warning: electricity demand and supply are moving out of balance and the status quo is not sustainable,” Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Steve DeFrank told Utility Dive, urging the power supplier to act immediately.
New data centers have placed additional strain on PJM Interconnection, America’s largest power grid, which serves 13 states. An Amazon Web Services data center is shown in Stone Ridge, Virginia, one of the states within PJM’s territory
Surging demand has collided with years of shrinking net electricity supplies in the region, helping push capacity costs more than 1,000 percent higher since 2024 and creating a 6.8-gigawatt shortfall that could lead to blackouts
The grid operator, pictured, expects data center electricity demand to triple by 2030, reaching about 29 gigawatts across its Midwest and Mid-Atlantic territory
Joseph Bowring, president of Monitoring Analytics and PJM’s independent market monitor, issued a similar warning.
“PJM is continuing to act like it’s business as usual,” he told the outlet in July. “You have to open your eyes and recognize that it really is a paradigm shift, and failing to do that imposes costs on the other customers.”
In an urgent effort to manage data center electricity demand, PJM Interconnection asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve a plan that would allow it to cut power to large, newly connected data centers during energy shortages to help prevent blackouts.
“PJM is continuing to act like it’s business as usual,” he told the outlet in July. “You have to open your eyes and recognize that it really is a paradigm shift, and failing to do that imposes costs on the other customers.”
However, the commission rejected that portion of the proposal on Friday, ruling that the Federal Power Act places the decision with the states, The Hill reports.
FERC said PJM could submit a revised plan for curtailing data center power use, but it would have to address several concerns, including why data centers should be disconnected before other large electricity users.
The commission did approve another part of PJM’s request, allowing the grid operator to create a database of data centers. At present, the operator has received very limited information about how much electricity those facilities consume.
The database could help PJM prepare for future data center expansion by identifying each facility’s electricity provider, expected in-service date and power ramp-up schedule, along with its backup generation, fuel sources and location.
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Google and Constellation Energy are seeking to strengthen the power grid by connecting data center operations to nuclear energy
PJM spokesman Jeff Shields told The Hill the grid operator is now ‘reviewing the commission’s order with an eye toward how we can fulfill FERC’s requirements while recognizing the responsibilities FERC indicated belong to the states and honoring the concept that existing electricity customers should not be unfairly burdened by new, energy-intensive customers in the form of higher costs or decreased reliability.’
To help achieve that goal, Google and Constellation Energy announced last week a plan to bring 890 megawatts of new, reliable nuclear capacity onto the PJM Interconnection grid to help meet the growing demand.
It comes as nearly a dozen electric utilities submitted their proposals to the PJM Load Analysis Subcommittee mainly related to projects at data centers, according to Inspenet.
‘Preserving and expanding the output of the existing nuclear fleet and developing new clean energy is critical to meeting our nation’s growing energy needs while keeping costs affordable for homes and businesses,’ said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation.
‘This long-term clean energy collaboration with Google can serve as a model for how technology companies and the energy industry can work together to responsibly develop the digital economy and invest in our nation’s energy infrastructure in a way that delivers grid-wide benefits for all, funded by private entities.’
The two companies hope to establish the first upgrade to the grid’s capacity by 2028.
But in the meantime, the DOE issued a short-term emergency order allowing PJM Interconnection to push past normal pollution limits in an effort to keep the lights on for its 67 million customers.
The emergency order went into effect on Tuesday and is expected to last through Friday due to a sudden and unseasonably warm spike in temperatures.
In the meantime, the US Department of Energy issued a short-term emergency order allowing PJM Interconnection to push past normal pollution limits. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is pictured last month
Forecasters with AccuWeather have said temperatures in the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic will jump into the 70s and 80s, including in all 13 states PJM covers.
Officials feared that the sudden demand for power, as millions turn fans and air conditioners back on, might overtax PJM’s grid, which had already shut down several power plants and transmission lines for seasonal repairs.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the move aimed at reducing the risk of widespread blackouts across the Mid-Atlantic during this week’s heat blast.
Wright also blamed the Biden Administration for weakening the nation’s electrical grid by restricting energy production using coal and natural gas in favor of intermittent sources like wind and solar, allegedly leaving the US more vulnerable to power outages.
‘This order will help ensure millions of American families and businesses across the mid-Atlantic have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity by making additional power generation, including backup power, available to use as needed,’ Wright said in a statement.
The secretary also slammed the previous DOE leadership group for allegedly placing the country in a dire position that depends on less reliable forms of energy for electricity.
‘While past leaders’ energy subtraction policies have made the grid more vulnerable to the risk of blackouts when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, this administration remains committed to using every available tool to prevent blackouts,’ he added.
Our News Outlet has reached out to PJM Interconnection for comment.
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