PJM Interconnection, the grid operator serving 67 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C., asked federal regulators on Thursday to approve rules that would cut power to new data centers ahead of households during supply shortages, Reuters reports.
The filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission follows two consecutive capacity auctions that failed to secure enough generation, and PJM’s board projects roughly 70 GW of new large load by 2038 against roughly 15 GW of generation retired since 2022.
And the fossil fuel death-cultists who usurped the government are champing at the bit to let them have it in the most polluting way possible.
Backup generators are the only reasonable alternative at this scale if the grid goes down. Battery banks last minutes, and are only good to allow for diesel to kick in.