PJM Interconnection has released a formal framework aimed at integrating large data center loads onto the regional grid while preserving reliability and keeping costs manageable for existing ratepayers. The proposal outlines new interconnection standards specifically targeting the surge in high-density AI compute facilities seeking direct grid access. PJM serves 65 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia, making its interconnection rules among the most consequential in the country.
PJM's framework sets a regulatory template that other regional transmission organizations may follow, directly shaping where and how data center developers can site facilities across the eastern US. Stricter interconnection terms could slow capacity additions or push developers toward markets with looser rules.
Named organization PJM, formal regulatory action, grid reliability framing, and direct data center policy impact triggered selection. This is a new framework proposal distinct from previously published PJM emergency-disconnection and interconnection-rule stories already in the archive.