Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to initiate rulemaking procedures with a proposed rule to accelerate the interconnection of large electric loads, including data centers, to help the United States lead in AI innovation.
In a letter sent on Oct. 23 to FERC’s chairman and commissioners, Wright urged the agency to consider his proposed rule and take action no later than April 30, 2026.
“To usher in a new era of American prosperity, we must ensure all Americans and domestic industries have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity. To do this, large loads, including AI data centers, served by public utilities must be able to connect to the transmission system in a timely, orderly, and non-discriminatory manner,” Wright wrote in the letter.
“My proposal today sets forth a series of principles that are intended to ensure efficient, timely, and non-discriminatory load interconnections,” he added. “It is my hope that you and the Commission’s dedicated staff will build upon these principles and work expeditiously to initiate a rulemaking proceeding and ultimately issue a final rule.”
Wright’s proposed rule would apply to large loads over 20 megawatts. According to an Oct. 24 press release from the Energy Department, the proposed rule would allow customers to file joint, co-located load and generation interconnection requests.
The proposal would also “significantly reduce study times and grid upgrade costs” and cut down the time needed for additional generation and power to come online, according to the department.
The Energy Department said the proposed rule is in alignment with President Donald Trump’s agenda “to ensure all Americans and domestic industries have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity.”
Wright’s proposal also clarifies that it “is not intended in any way to discourage public utilities from making filings to address these and similar issues under [Federal Power Act] section 205.”
However, in a LinkedIn post, former FERC Chair Mark Christie questioned whether the proposal represents “an unprecedented expansion of federal control and intrusion on the states’ historic retail regulatory authority.”