No additional stories this week.
Complimentary weekly intelligence on power procurement, interconnection queues, and data center development — for teams building at the grid edge.
FERC largely rejected PJM's large load interconnection proposal, finding key provisions intrude on state jurisdiction and appear discriminatory, per Utility Dive, and the compliance landscape around large loads is simultaneously tightening, with NERC's new reliability standards for 50MW-plus AI and crypto facilities moving toward final approval and adding a fresh layer of obligation to high-voltage site underwriting.
Our read: MISO's $14.74 billion transmission expansion plan, driven by large load additions, suggests grid investment is scaling but cost trajectories may challenge near-term speed. For site selectors and power procurement teams, large-load grid access faces simultaneous legal, regulatory, and physical constraints. Sunrun's commercial talks with hyperscalers on residential VPP capacity may signal that some buyers are exploring capacity pathways outside the standard interconnection queue.
Where interconnection queue activity, load growth, and current market signals converge.
| ISO | Queue Depth | Load Signal | This Week's Signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERCOT | 1,887 | +3.1% | No signals this week |
| FRCC | 1,393 | +0.9% | No signals this week |
| SPP | 1,000 | 0.0% | Unnamed data center developer offers Kansas town residents $1,000 each annually for 10 years, likely to secure community support for siting. per CBS News |
| NYISO | 395 | 0.0% | No signals this week |
| ISO-NE | 376 | 0.0% | Connecticut town residents voice opposition to proposed giant-sized data center development. per Yahoo News |
| WECC | 2,199 | -0.1% | No signals this week |
| MISO | 1,783 | -0.5% | Digital Realty eyes gigawatt-scale data center site outside Indianapolis, Indiana per Data Center Dynamics |
| PJM | 3,031 | -1.5% | Virginia reshapes data center rules via Spanberger's Accountability Framework, EO 22, utility-rate reforms and tighter Loudoun/Prince William zoning, shifting risk to developers. per Data Center Frontier |
| CAISO | 849 | -2.4% | No signals this week |
FERC largely rejected PJM's large load interconnection proposal, including proposed interim service and 'bring your own new capacity' rules, finding key provisions intrude on state jurisdiction and appear discriminatory. Our read: developers and investors banking on expedited PJM interconnection pathways may need to reassess timelines and site selection strategies given the ruling.
FERC Rejects PJM Large Load Plan, Forcing Queue Strategy Rethink
FERC last week rejected the bulk of PJM's large load interconnection proposal, finding that key provisions intrude on state utility jurisdiction and raise discrimination concerns by effectively creating a preferential pathway for high-demand customers seeking dedicated grid capacity. The ruling lands at a particularly consequential moment. PJM already operates one of the most congested interconnection queues in the country, and the rejected framework had been widely anticipated as a potential relief valve for hyperscale and data center developers racing to secure grid access in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest markets. That relief valve is now closed, at least in its proposed form.
The market mechanics shift meaningfully as a result. Key elements of PJM's proposal, including interim service and 'bring your own new capacity' rules, would have allowed large loads to connect to the grid without matching new capacity if they agreed to be curtailed ahead of grid emergencies.
Our read: Without that mechanism, data center developers fall back into the standard queue process. Developers who structured site acquisition or capital deployment timelines around an expedited large load pathway are now working with a materially different set of assumptions. For site selection and queue strategy, the practical implication is heightened scrutiny on queue position and interconnection study risk. Projects advanced specifically to leverage the large load framework may require reassessment. Developers should treat any successor proposal from PJM with caution; the timing of any revised filing and its approval is not yet known. Developers underwriting projects on the premise of regulatory accommodation in queue processes should treat that premise as a risk factor, not a baseline.
Read more → · Source: Utility Dive · 2026-10-12
We Energies filed an engineering plan for a 750-MW gas plant in Wrightstown; the utility has not said whether the plant would serve a data center. Our read: for site selectors, procurement timelines would be tied to a single gas asset pending regulatory approval, with construction not starting until 2029 per We Energies' proposed timeline.
Read more → · Source: POWER Magazine · 2026-10-13
Power market intelligence from NexPhase Advisory: interconnection and origination intelligence built from public grid data, covering utility-scale development from site origination and land control through interconnection and offtake. The analysis connects public news to what's actually moving in the queue.
The Interconnect is part of the NexPhase Intelligence Platform, alongside DC Site Intelligence and The Morning Read: intel.nexphaseadvisory.net/platform/
This brief is complimentary intelligence, built from public news, queue data, and regulatory filings, filtered through a practitioner's read of what actually moves projects. It's the analysis we'd want on our desk on a Monday morning, shared because the market is moving faster than most coverage of it.
Coverage suggestions welcome, reply anytime. The best story tips come from people in the queue.
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