PUC Study Finds Data Center Boom Could Push Pennsylvania Grid Six Times Past Reliability Limit By 2030

In response to an independent Synapse Energy Economics study released by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) warning that rapid data center growth could push the regional electric grid nearly six times past PJM Interconnection’s reliability planning standard by 2030, Evergreen Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Catherine Zingg released the following statement:

“This independent study confirms what Pennsylvania families have feared: Big Tech’s energy appetite is on track to overwhelm the electric grid they depend on. PJM’s own most recent capacity auctions failed to secure the capacity required to ensure reliability in their delivery years—and under the most likely scenario, the regional grid fails to meet PJM’s reliability standard through 2030. This is not a distant problem. These pressures are already rising and policymakers must face them head on.

“Governor Shapiro took an important step by making GRID standards, including requiring data centers to pay for their own power, legally enforceable. But protecting households from rising costs and a less reliable grid will require additional practical actions policymakers can take while pursuing lasting reform—including making smart investments in homegrown clean energy, holding PJM and monopoly utilities accountable for the broken, profit-driven system they thrive on, and expanding customer-owned clean power like rooftop solar and battery storage. We applaud the PUC for this sobering analysis and urge Commonwealth leaders to act now.”                                                                             

Another independent analysis from Synapse released in June by Evergreen and NRDC found that Pennsylvania could save households up to $841 on energy bills and strengthen grid reliability through three targeted interventions: meeting new data center demand by building more cheap, clean energy, including reforming siting and connection processes to bring new capacity online faster; reining in monopoly utility companies’ excess profits, and expanding customer-owned clean power while simultaneously deploying technologies to make the existing grid infrastructure more efficient. A fact sheet detailing these interventions and their benefits can be found here.

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