PJM Interconnection

PJM Interconnection is the largest regional transmission organisation in the United States, coordinating electricity transmission across a 14-state region plus Washington DC. Its footprint includes Northern Virginia, the world's largest data-centre market, as well as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. In May 2026, PJM became the first RTO in the country to execute a Section 202(c) emergency curtailment order targeting data-centre load: the DOE on 18 May 2026 granted PJM authority to switch off data centres equipped with behind-the-meter backup generation during a heat event, with Maryland and Virginia facing the most acute strain. PJM recorded a peak-load forecast of 135,961 MW with more than 40 GW of plant offline for maintenance.

Despite a 75 GW increase in US generating capacity since 2025, including approximately 26 GW from ERCOT alone, PJM still triggered emergency protocols in mid-May, demonstrating that new supply has not kept pace with data-centre-driven demand growth of approximately 5% annually. PJM's capacity auctions have come under severe pressure, with costs rising approximately eightfold year-on-year in the most recent forward auction, a first-ever shortfall in the RTO's history. On 18 June 2026, FERC issued PJM and five other RTOs Section 206 show-cause orders, requiring tariff justification or reform across five areas including co-located load terms; show-cause responses are due 17 August 2026, public comments 16 September. The anticipated binding June rule was replaced by this slower process, pushing a final large-load standard to 2027 at the earliest.