PUC Advances Consumer Safeguards On Data Centers

HARRISBURG – As rapid data center development adds significant new demand to the regional electric grid, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today advanced proposed safeguards aimed at protecting Pennsylvania consumers and preserving electric reliability during periods when electricity supplies may be strained.  By a vote of 4-0, the Commission approved a Tentative Order seeking public comment on proposed changes to how Pennsylvania electric utilities prepare for and respond to periods of tight electricity supply, including new procedures for electric distribution companies addressing large loads such as data centers.  At the center of the proposal is a key consumer protection principle: certain large new loads that have not secured sufficient new electric capacity to support their demand would be subject to curtailment before other customers when additional load reductions are needed to maintain reliability.  The Commission is also proposing that large loads such as data centers not be classified by electric distribution companies as critical loads that would be exempt from curtailment during pre-emergency or emergency events.  Acting now to protect consumers and reliability.  The action builds on a Sept. 10 motion offered by Vice Chair Barrow and unanimously approved by the Commission directing PUC staff to outline proposed updates that Pennsylvania’s electric distribution companies must make to their emergency electric load-control procedures.  It also follows a recent independent analysis commissioned by the PUC warning that rapidly growing electricity demand – driven largely by data center development – could create serious reliability risks if electric supply does not keep pace. Under the study’s reference scenario, the regional grid fails to meet PJM’s reliability planning standard from 2027 through 2030, with modeled reliability risk by 2030 nearly six times that standard.