Graded Moderate and tightening on how it connects a new large load. 14 states, 7 actions with sources, reviewed 10 October 2026.
No PJM large-load study process is in force; transmission owners handle loads and FERC's June 18, 2026 show-cause found the tariff lacks study rules.
The July 14, 2026 auction cleared at the $325 per MW-day cap, and the backstop procurement accepted September 29, 2026 adds up to $555 per MW-day contracts.
No curtailment rule is in force: FERC rejected the curtail-first interim service on 9 October 2026 and kept only the large-load definition and registry.
Co-location is allowed with review while FERC's June 18, 2026 show-cause order rewrites the rules; the June 9, 2026 fast lane covers only generation.
The July 14, 2026 auction cleared at the cap 6,831 MW short of the reliability requirement; FERC's October 9, 2026 order left the shortfall unaddressed.
Scored on rules in force, 1 to 5. 5 is the most regulated. Pending rules set the arrow.
PJM publishes no RTO-wide large load queue. Proxy is utility large load adjustment submissions: ~60 GW raw for 2030 cut to 34 GW accepted in the 2026 forecast (firm only count toward RPM). 2027 cycle: 12 utilities submitted Sept 29, 2026, totals not yet published, final Jan 2027. PJM 2026 Long-Term Load Forecast (Jan 14, 2026): summer peak 222,106 MW in 2036 and 253,077 MW in 2046 (+96.7 GW over 20 years); large load adjustments add +35.1 GW 2026 to 2031, more than all net peak growth in that window pjm.com Pace: Proxy: Dominion Energy Virginia connected 11 data centers, 744 MW combined, in 2025 (FY2025 annual report). PJM itself publishes no RTO-wide energized large load figure; LAS and IMM decks are forecast only. sec.gov
PJM's last two capacity auctions cleared at the price cap and still fell more than 6,600 MW short of the reliability requirement, which PJM attributes mainly to data center growth. Its answer is a one-time backstop purchase of new capacity, a registry of loads of 50 MW or more, and a rule that new large loads without their own new capacity are curtailed before other customers from June 2027. FERC accepted the backstop purchase but delayed it to February 2027, and has not yet ruled on the curtailment rule. FERC is also rewriting PJM's co-location and large-load connection rules.
FERC's 9 October 2026 order left PJM with a large-load registry and no curtailment or bring-your-own-capacity rule; PJM is reviewing how to meet the order while states decide which retail customers are curtailed first, with Ohio and Pennsylvania the states to watch. The backstop procurement cannot take effect before 28 February 2027, PJM's response to the large-load show-cause order is due in mid-November 2026, and the 2029/2030 capacity auction is planned for December 2026.
PJM is graded Moderate and tightening on how it connects a new large load: Capacity short at the price cap; curtailment rule for new loads pending PJM's last two capacity auctions cleared at the price cap and still fell more than 6,600 MW short of the reliability requirement, which PJM attributes mainly to data center growth. Its answer is a one-time backstop purchase of new capacity, a registry of loads of 50 MW or more, and a rule that new large loads without their own new capacity are curtailed before other customers from June 2027. FERC accepted the backstop purchase but delayed it to February 2027, and has not yet ruled on the curtailment rule. FERC is also rewriting PJM's co-location and large-load connection rules.
60.0 GW of large-load interconnection requests as of Jan 2026, of which 34.0 GW approved or contracted. PJM publishes no RTO-wide large load queue. Proxy is utility large load adjustment submissions: ~60 GW raw for 2030 cut to 34 GW accepted in the 2026 forecast (firm only count toward RPM). 2027 cycle: 12 utilities submitted Sept 29, 2026, totals not yet published, final Jan 2027. At the recent pace of about 744 MW a year (Proxy: Dominion Energy Virginia connected 11 data centers, 744 MW combined, in 2025 (FY2025 annual report). PJM itself publishes no RTO-wide energized large load figure; LAS and IMM decks are forecast only.), the queue represents roughly 81 years of connections, which is why most of it will never be built.
Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Each state page gives that state's own laws, incentives and local actions, which sit under the grid's connection rules.
13 of 14: Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.
FERC's 9 October 2026 order left PJM with a large-load registry and no curtailment or bring-your-own-capacity rule; PJM is reviewing how to meet the order while states decide which retail customers are curtailed first, with Ohio and Pennsylvania the states to watch. The backstop procurement cannot take effect before 28 February 2027, PJM's response to the large-load show-cause order is due in mid-November 2026, and the 2029/2030 capacity auction is planned for December 2026.
7 items: each is a law, order, tariff, ruling, utility action or local decision that changes what a data center must do, pay or disclose, or where it may be built. Failed and pending measures are marked. Each links to its source.
On 8 October 2026 PJM accepted its first three fast-lane projects, more than 2,100 MW in total: two ENGIE batteries (860 MW in Crawford County, Pennsylvania and 800 MW in Morrow County, Ohio) and a 455 MW uprate of the Hunterstown gas plant in Adams County, Pennsylvania. All target mid-2029. Applications opened on 31 July; the track takes up to 10 requests a year, requires at least 250 MW of accredited capacity and a state commitment to speed permitting, and sunsets at the end of 2027.
Source: mgrid.orgFiled 13 August 2026: new loads of 50 MW or more entering service after 1 June 2027 without matching new capacity would be curtailed before pre-emergency demand response, with capped payment, under an Interim Resource Adequacy Service. On 9 October 2026 FERC accepted the large-load definition and a registry of each facility's location, ramp schedule and capacity supply, and rejected the interim service and the bring-your-own-new-capacity rules as intruding on state jurisdiction over retail customers. PJM is reviewing the order.
Source: utilitydive.comFERC accepted the one-time procurement on 29 September 2026 but suspended it for five months, to 28 February 2027, subject to refund and further proceedings on three open issues. The initial target is 6,831 MW of new capacity, reduced by any new supply that large loads contract for directly; contracts run up to 15 years with a cost cap of $555 per MW-day. PJM did not open the procurement on 30 September as planned.
Source: publicpower.orgResults of 14 July 2026: the auction cleared at the $325 per MW-day cap across the whole footprint, procured 138,318 MW and came up 6,831 MW short of the reliability requirement, for a 14.7 percent reserve margin. The cleared cost is $16.4 billion. The 2027/2028 auction cleared at $333.44 and was 6,623 MW short.
Source: pjm.comThe PJM board's 27 July 2026 letter rejected the only stakeholder proposal that won a supermajority and directed the registry, backstop procurement and curtailment filings. It cites a forecast of about 70 GW of new large-load demand by 2038 and about 15 GW of generation retired since 2022.
Source: babstcalland.comFERC accepted the fast lane on 9 June 2026. Projects must reach commercial operation within three years and be online by 2030. The regular queue's first cycle drew 829 applications totaling about 212,000 MW by 15 May 2026.
Source: climatesolutionslaw.comFERC preliminarily found on 18 June 2026 that PJM's tariff does not adequately cover large-load studies, cost shifting, co-location, flexible service and generators serving nearby loads. PJM's tariff response is expected in mid-November 2026 after the abeyance period FERC allowed.
Source: hklaw.comNeed the capacity sooner than the queue allows? Every unit in the register is held by Genloop, restored and re-warrantied, and can move on your timeline.
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