NEW YORK: Governors representing more than a quarter of US states demanded greater influence over the PJM Interconnection power grid on Monday as electricity prices surge from artificial intelligence data centre demand.
Rising power bills within the PJM grid, which serves 13 states and the District of Columbia, have triggered a political backlash over the past year.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin described the situation as a crisis of insufficient power and a crisis in confidence.
Youngkin called for PJM to reopen its board nomination process during a governors’ gathering in Philadelphia.
He and other governors want states to have more operational say, inspired by governance models in the Midwest and New England.
PJM is a member-run organisation where states lack a vote, with governance handled by a board of managers and voting members comprising transmission owners and power plant operators.
Youngkin criticised PJM’s electricity demand forecasts for fundamentally underestimating the AI-driven power demand surge.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman David Rosner acknowledged that connecting new generation to the grid takes too long, with some studies requiring up to five years.
Rosner labelled the lengthy connection delays as unacceptable.
Surging PJM prices also stem from electricity production and transport costs alongside capacity payments to power plant operators.
These capacity payments have increased by approximately 1,000% over the last two annual auctions due to projected data centre demand and stagnant power supply.
States have exerted influence over PJM through other means despite their lack of a formal vote.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro successfully pushed for a price ceiling and floor on PJM’s most recent capacity auction. – Reuters