FERC accepts PJM large load registry, rejects curtailment plan

FERC has accepted PJM's definition of a large load, 50 megawatts or more at a single site, and a registry to track those loads from October 12, but rejected the grid operator's plan to curtail new large loads first in a shortage.

Why it matters: The order leaves the largest US grid without its proposed emergency tool for the data centre load surge, and pushes the question of who gets cut first in a shortage back to PJM and state regulators.

Data as of Monday, October 12, 2026. FERC order of October 9 in docket ER26-3515, with the registry taking effect October 12, per Utility Dive and two trade analyses of the order. Developing item, 2 to 3 sentences by design.

In an October 9 order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accepted PJM Interconnection’s definition of a large load, an end-use customer with a cumulative peak of 50 megawatts or more at a single electrical site, and a Large Load Registry that takes effect October 12 and requires load-serving entities to report the large loads they serve. The commission rejected the rest of PJM’s August filing as one package, including the Interim Resource Adequacy Service, under which new large loads that had not brought their own new capacity could be curtailed in emergencies, and the related Bring Your Own New Capacity rules.

FERC said parts of the tariff appeared to reach into retail regulation, which sits outside its authority, and that PJM had not shown the curtailment treatment was not unduly discriminatory, while giving PJM guidance on how a revised proposal could be refiled. PJM has warned it will be short of the capacity needed for its reliability requirement from the 2027/2028 delivery year, largely because of data centre load growth.

FERC accepts PJM large load registry, rejects curtailment plan

Sources