Watchdog for regional energy grid files complaint urging delay of data centers

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The watchdog agency that independently oversees Virginia's energy grid, along with other states, has filed a complaint urging the federal government to halt the connection of large data centers due to reliability concerns.

As first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, on Nov. 25, Monitoring Analytics, LLC -- a independent watchdog -- filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) against the regional energy grid operator PJM Interconnection, LLC.

PJM operates the regional energy grid, coordinating the movement of electricity between 13 states, including Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C., serving roughly 67 million people throughout the region.

Energy providers like Dominion Energy and Rockland Electric coordinate their operations through PJM to reduce costs and make major power outages less likely.

In addition to everyday energy users like homes, businesses and schools, Virginia is home to a plethora of data centers and is considered the data center capital of the world -- with new data center continuing to crop up throughout the Commonwealth.

The facilities typically house multiple computer servers, data storage devices, and network equipment that all require a vast amount of energy to power.

In the complaint, Monitoring Analytics, LLC stated that PJM is proposing to connect large new data centers to the energy grid, which cannot reliably receive energy under the grid's current capacity.

The watchdog further said that if these data centers were connected at the current capacity, it would require blackouts of those data centers or other customers at times, meaning it would not be serving customers the reliable, economical energy it is charged with facilitating.

"PJM is currently proposing to allow the interconnection of large new data center loads that it cannot serve reliably and that will require load curtailments (black outs) of the data centers or of other customers at times," Monitoring Analytics stated in the complaint. "That result is not consistent with the basic responsibility of PJM to maintain a reliable grid and is therefore not just and reasonable."

Therefore, Monitoring Analytics stated in the complaint that PJM should wait to add those large new data centers until energy can be reliably provided.

"As part of its obligation to maintain reliability, PJM has the authority to require large new data center loads to wait to be added to the system until the loads can be served reliably, meaning that there is adequate generation to serve it and adequate transmission to serve it," the complaint said.

The complaint urged that FERC issue an order allowing PJM to connect large new data centers to the grid only when it has the reliable energy capacity to do so.

"The Complaint seeks an order finding that PJM has the authority to add large new data center loads only when they can be served reliably as defined both by transmission and capacity adequacy and directing PJM to file tariff language stating this explicitly," the complaint stated.

Without an order from FERC, the watchdog stated that there is a level of uncertainty about rules for the energy market and PJM's interpretation of its own rules, with billions of dollars of costs for energy customers at stake.

"It is not just and reasonable to have this level of uncertainty about the meaning of the Market Rules and in PJM's interpretation of its own Market Rules when billions of dollars of costs for PJM customers are at stake and the process for interconnecting large new data center loads is at issue," Monitoring Analytics said in the complaint.

8News reached out to PJM Interconnection for comment and received the following response:

"We are still going through the complaint from the Independent Market Monitor and we would reserve comment at this time."

Dominion Energy also responded to an 8News inquiry with the following statement:

"We do not have any specific comments on the complaint. However, I can assure you as a responsible regulated utility, we only connect large new customers once there are sufficient power supplies and infrastructure in place to reliably serve them. We carefully study each request for new connections, and we develop a plan to make sure the necessary infrastructure is in place. We also do regular long-term planning for power generation and transmission to make sure we’re reliably serving our customers’ growing needs over the long term."

The full complaint is available below.