Federal regulators moved to accelerate how quickly large electricity users connect to the grid, a response to soaring demand from artificial intelligence data centers. On June 18 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued tailored orders under the Federal Power Act directing each US regional grid operator to speed interconnection for large load users, with data centers the primary focus.
The action targets a growing bottleneck. Interconnection queues have delayed projects for years, and utilities have warned of regional capacity shortages as soon as 2026. Power availability is now widely described as the leading constraint on new data center construction, ahead of land or capital. Earlier in the year, federal officials reached an agreement with governors to direct the PJM grid operator to hold an emergency capacity auction, structured so that technology companies help pay for new power plants rather than shifting those costs onto residential customers.
The scale of demand is large. Analysts estimate total US data center electricity load could roughly double over three years, climbing from about 80 gigawatts in 2025 toward 150 gigawatts by 2028. Utilities are signing long term service agreements to lock in supply, and several are planning new generation to meet the load. The regulatory push reflects a central tension of the buildout, where computing demand is arriving faster than the grid can add capacity, and policymakers are trying to close the gap without raising bills for households.
Source: American Action Forum - https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/ferc-data-center-orders-accelerate-grid-connection/