(Bloomberg) -- America's biggest power grid has pitched a plan to ensure data centers fully pay for electricity they need to counter the threat of energy shortages amid the artificial-intelligence boom.
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PJM Interconnection LLC aims to launch an emergency auction for power generation in September to help plug a nearly seven gigawatt shortage for the year beginning 2028 resulting from an auction earlier this month, according to a letter to stakeholders Monday. The costs of the so-called Reliability Backstop Procurement will be allocated to data centers, it added.
PJM, home to Northern Virginia's Data Center Alley, has been under intense pressure to rapidly boost power generation to address a projected electricity shortage in the coming years. The grid operator has faced months of criticism from state governors, utilities, consumer rights groups and the White House, prompting calls for reforms or even a break up of the network.
A mid-July capacity auction to ensure that the system would have enough power for periods of peak demand in the year starting June 2028 fell 6.8 gigawatts short of a key goal to maintain system reliability. That's equal to approximately seven traditional nuclear reactors. It was the latest in a string of failures that have raised pressure on a grid operator that has built a reputation for delivering a stable system.
US President Donald Trump and a bipartisan group of governors in January offered a blueprint to PJM, by proposing that the grid operator conduct a one-time electricity auction in which technology companies would effectively pay for new power plants by bidding on 15-year electric capacity contracts.
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