KEY POINTS
- PJM has begun its yearly review of proposed large-load additions to its 2027 long-term forecast, using new guidelines this time.
- About a dozen utilities, including Dominion, NOVEC, FirstEnergy and Duke, presented proposals that mostly involve data centers.
- Consultant Charles River Associates will report on data center trends in October, and the final forecast is due in January.
PJM Interconnection, the largest power grid operator in the United States, said Tuesday it has begun its yearly review of how much extra electricity demand large customers such as data centers could add to its system.
The review looks at proposed large-load adjustments to PJM’s 2027 long-term load forecast. This year the grid operator is using new guidelines to better judge how likely developers are to actually build those projects.
PJM said the main reason for the review is rising electricity demand from data centers and other big power users across all of its regions. The company manages the grid for more than 65 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia, from the mid-Atlantic to parts of the Midwest.
Utilities Present Data Center Plans
About a dozen utilities, including Dominion Energy, NOVEC, FirstEnergy and Duke Energy, presented their proposals to PJM’s Load Analysis Subcommittee on Tuesday. The proposals mostly covered data centers, but they could also include other customers that use large amounts of electricity.
Dominion and NOVEC, the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, both serve Northern Virginia, which has the world’s largest concentration of data centers.
PJM said it will weigh the utilities’ proposals together with other information about expected demand growth.
The grid operator has also hired an independent consultant, Charles River Associates, to study data center demand trends and what could speed up or slow down that growth. The firm is expected to present its findings in October.
PJM Interconnection Sets Timeline for Final Forecast
In November, PJM plans to explain how it is using all of this information to set a final load adjustment. The finished 2027 long-term load forecast is due to be published in January.
The forecast matters well beyond PJM. The grid operator uses its demand projections to plan new transmission lines and to decide how much power supply it needs to buy in its capacity auctions, which affect what customers pay for electricity.
Grid planners have also grown more cautious about speculative projects. Developers are requesting far more data center capacity than they may ever build, which makes it harder for grid planners to know how much new supply the region really needs.
