--- title: "FERC interconnection of large loads to the Interstate Transmission System in the United States; 60-day expedited study for curtailable loads" sdDatePublished: "2026-06-18T11:21:00Z" source: "https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/summary-ferc-meeting-agenda-june-2026" topics: - name: "energy industry" identifier: "medtop:20000261" - name: "electricity" identifier: "medtop:20000260" - name: "artificial intelligence" identifier: "medtop:20001298" - name: "regulation of industry" identifier: "medtop:20000636" locations: - "Virginia" - "West Virginia" - "New Mexico" - "Illinois" - "Ohio" - "Louisiana" - "District of Columbia" - "Maryland" - "Arizona" - "South Carolina" - "Texas" - "United States" - "Wisconsin" - "Missouri" - "Minnesota" - "New York" - "Pennsylvania" - "North Carolina" - "California" - "New Jersey" - "Colorado" --- FERC interconnection of large loads to the Interstate Transmission System in the United States; 60-day expedited study for curtailable loads Summary of FERC Meeting Agenda for June 2026 | White & Case LLP Summary of FERC Meeting Agenda for June 2026 Summaries of the agenda items for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's monthly open meeting to be held on June 18, 2026, pursuant to the sunshine notice released on June 11, 2026. E-1 – Interconnection of Large Loads to the Interstate Transmission System (Docket No. RM26-4-000). On October 27, 2025, the Secretary of Energy submitted a letter and Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR), pursuant to section 403 of the Department of Energy Organization Act, directing the Commission to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to accelerate the interconnection of large loads. In the ANOPR, the Department of Energy (DOE) asserted that the Commission has jurisdiction over the interconnection of large loads directly to the interstate transmission system, noting that the sheer magnitude and speed of data center development and artificial intelligence technologies have outpaced existing state-level regulatory regimes. To address this dislocation, the DOE proposed a framework of principles for new and co-located hybrid facilities of 20 megawatts or greater, including standardizing study deposits, readiness requirements, and withdrawal penalties; studying load facilities concurrently with generating facilities; assigning 100 percent of associated network upgrade costs to the interconnecting load; and expediting the study process to 60 days for loads that agree to be flexible and curtailable. On October 27, 2025, the Commission issued a notice soliciting comments on the ANOPR. On November 21, 2025, approximately 175 entities filed respective initial comments regarding the ANOPR. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) clarified its statutory authority over users of the bulk power system and detailed its ongoing Large Loads Action Plan to evaluate potential updates to registry criteria and reliability standards. Hyperscale technology companies, including Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta), Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft), OpenAI Inc. (OpenAI), and Google LLC (Google), broadly supported expedited study processes for large loads and hybrid facilities. Meta cautioned against adopting binding, detailed rules, recommending instead that the Commission issue guidance and best practices to avoid hindering private sector innovation, while urging an increase of the applicability threshold to 75 megawatts or higher. Microsoft and OpenAI supported establishing expedited pathways for curtailable loads and hybrid facilities, with OpenAI additionally proposing a fast-track process for nationally important projects exceeding 250 megawatts designated by DOE. Google urged the Commission to prioritize the integration of co-located generation and load, advocating for studies based on actual requested withdrawal rights and recommending the implementation of standardized study deposits and minimum charges similar to its state-level Capacity Commitment Frameworks. Regional Transmission Organizations, including PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM), the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), and Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP), favored regional flexibility and cautioned against a uniform federal mandate. PJM questioned whether the theoretical benefits of a federally regulated large load queue would outweigh the complex jurisdictional and implementation challenges, noting that existing dockets such as EL25-49 may already address many of the ANOPR principles regarding hybrid facilities. MISO argued that standardizing load interconnections based on the generator interconnection model would introduce delays and speculative requests, emphasizing the success of its existing Expedited Project Review and Expedited Resource Addition Study processes. SPP requested deference to its own pending High Impact Large Load (HILL) and HILLGA proposals, arguing that a 20-megawatt threshold is inappropriate and asserting that the Commission must ensure full injection and withdrawal impacts are studied to protect grid reliability. Utilities and transmission owners, including the Indicated PJM Transmission Owners, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Duke Energy Corporation (Duke Energy), and the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), offered differing perspectives on the scope of the proposed reforms. The Indicated PJM Transmission Owners argued that the applicability threshold should be raised to 200 megawatts and strictly limited to data centers, strongly opposing the direct assignment of 100 percent of network upgrade costs in favor of traditional rolled-in rate treatment, and objecting to granting load customers an option to build transmission due to reliability concerns. EEI similarly recommended raising the default threshold to at least 100 megawatts, asserting that co-located loads must pay for transmission and ancillary services on a gross basis to avoid shifting costs to existing retail customers, and urging the Commission to protect existing state-regulated retail service frameworks. Duke Energy argued that any standardized large load interconnection procedures should strictly apply only where transmission service is unbundled, while EPSA strongly supported the assertion of Commission jurisdiction to standardize opaque, unfiled transmission owner processes. Industrial Customer Organizations (comprising the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, the American Forest & Paper Association, the PJM Industrial Customer Coalition, and the Coalition of MISO Transmission Customers) filed joint comments opposing the 20-megawatt threshold as arbitrary and overly broad. The coalition argued that mandating 100 percent network upgrade cost responsibility for all large loads would financially devastate traditional manufacturers, and instead proposed an elective "XL Connect" fast-lane process for large loads willing to bear heightened costs and provide flexibility. A coalition of Public Interest Organizations (PIOs) supported the assignment of 100 percent of network upgrade costs to interconnecting large loads to prevent unjust cost shifts to existing ratepayers, while strongly opposing allowing existing generation facilities to suspend service to the broader market to serve new large loads. State, federal, and reliability entities addressed jurisdictional and reliability boundaries. Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia filed joint comments supporting the ANOPR framework but urged the Commission to develop national standards for regional load forecasts to prevent overbuilding driven by duplicative interconnection requests. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) asserted that the Commission must expressly disclaim jurisdiction over end-use sales, emphasizing that retail load interconnections fall squarely within the exclusive jurisdiction of state energy regulatory authorities. On December 5, 2025, numerous stakeholders filed respective reply comments. Hyperscale developers and industry groups, including Google, OpenAI, and the Data Center Coalition (DCC), reiterated the national security and economic imperatives of rapidly deploying artificial intelligence infrastructure. Google and OpenAI advocated for technology-neutral expedited pathways for co-located generation, electrically proximate resources, and highly flexible loads, arguing such configurations maximize existing infrastructure and mitigate reliability risks. DCC strongly urged the Commission to incorporate explicit grandfathering protections for projects in advanced development and requested immediate action to resolve the regulatory uncertainty surrounding hybrid facilities in pending PJM dockets. State regulatory representatives, including NARUC and the Virginia State Corporation Commission (VSCC), reiterated strong opposition to the Commission asserting jurisdiction over retail load interconnections, arguing such an action would precipitate protracted litigation and delay. To achieve the goals of the ANOPR while maintaining legal durability, NARUC and VSCC proposed a cooperative federalism approach where the Commission establishes minimum standards for large load interconnections that are subsequently implemented through state-jurisdictional tariffs, and both requested that the Commission convene a technical conference to develop a consensus. The Independent Market Monitor for PJM (IMM) supported establishing a load queue limited to data centers of five megawatts or greater, but argued that the primary driver of market dislocation is generation adequacy rather than transmission access. The IMM strongly opposed the co-location model and curtailable load frameworks, asserting that such mechanisms rely on illusory demand response strike prices, undermine competitive wholesale markets, and improperly shift reliability costs and risks to ratepayers. On December 11, 2025, PJM filed reply comments providing a progress update on its generation interconnection queue reforms. PJM noted that it processed approximately 140 gigawatts of generator interconnection requests during the first 18 months of its transition period and highlighted the recent execution of its Reliability Resource Initiative, which advanced 51 projects representing 9.3 gigawatts of unforced capacity to Transition Cycle No. 2. On March 20, 2026, NERC submitted a supplement detailing an accelerated large load action plan, stating its intent to issue a Level 3 Alert in early May 2026 (note: the Level 3 Alert was issued on May 4, 2026) and to file revised registry criteria and Reliability Standards by December 31, 2026. On April 7, 2026, Public Citizen, Inc. filed comments supporting a temporary moratorium on new data center interconnections until the issues raised in the NERC Level 3 Alert are resolved. On April 16, 2026, the Commission issued an Order Regarding Intent to Act. The Commission stated its intent to issue a legally durable order addressing the ANOPR by the end of June 2026, noting meaningful progress in other dockets but acknowledging that further action is warranted. The Commission clarified that its ongoing efforts should not discourage public utilities from making related filings under section 205 of the Federal Power Act. Agenda item E-1 may be a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or an order on the interconnection of large loads. E-2 – PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (Docket Nos. EL25-49-002, EL25-49-000, AD24-11-001, EL25-20-001, ER26-1479-000). On December 18, 2025, the Commission issued an order on a show cause proceeding regarding large loads co-located at generating facilities within the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) footprint. In the order, the Commission found the existing PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff to be unjust and unreasonable due to a lack of standardized rules for large-scale behind-the-meter generation configurations, and directed PJM to create a transparent framework for netting generation against load and to implement distinct transmission services ensuring co-located facilities pay for actual grid utilization. On January 16, 2026, and January 20, 2026, multiple entities, including the Indicated PJM Transmission Owners, Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (Constellation), Eolian, L.P. and Antora Energy LLC, a coalition comprising the PJM Industrial Customer Coalition and Industrial Energy Consumers of America, and Earthjustice, filed respective requests for rehearing and clarification of the December 2025 order. On February 23, 2026, PJM submitted a compliance filing proposing substantial tariff revisions to govern behind-the-meter generation and transmission services for co-located load. PJM established a uniform materiality threshold capping retail behind-the-meter generation at a cumulative nameplate rating of 50 megawatts, exempting on-site emergency backup generation and permanently grandfathering qualifying facilities an