The FERC has unanimously passed an order requiring the largest network operators in the United States to explain, within 30 days, how they intend to clear the queue.
On 18 June 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unanimously passed an order targeting six of the largest network operators in the United States. They must explain, within thirty days, how they intend to connect the wave of new AI-dedicated data centres more quickly. Should the response not be deemed satisfactory, the regulator reserves the right to impose rules itself.
The constraint has become a physical one before it became a regulatory one. Electricity demand from US data centres has risen from around 23 GW in 2023 to 42 GW in 2026, driven by AI equipment racks that require 50 to 100 kW, whereas a conventional rack requires only 5 to 10 kW. Nearly half of the AI data centres planned for 2026 are behind schedule, creating a shortfall of around 7 GW which is holding back substantial downstream investment by major cloud operators.
The bottleneck is not down to available generation capacity but to the queue for connection: interconnection procedures, designed for a much slower pace of development, take several years to complete. It is this timetable that the regulatory body is seeking to shorten, by requiring operators to submit revised interconnection tariffs or to justify their inaction before the commission.
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