Investor-owned utilities across the United States are preparing to connect at least 39 gigawatts of new electricity demand from data centers, manufacturing facilities and other large industrial customers, according to a new filing by the Edison Electric Institute.
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The trade association told federal regulators that dozens of major projects are currently in development and will require significant grid planning and coordination in the coming years.
In a filing submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the organization highlighted the rapid growth of large electricity loads driven largely by expanding digital infrastructure and manufacturing investments.
“We continue to underscore the importance of crafting federal policies that build upon, rather than disrupt, existing forward progress, including state processes and stakeholder efforts,” Drew Maloney, president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, said in the filing. “We are committed to ensuring the timely interconnection of large loads while also ensuring benefits and protection for all customers and the grid.”
According to EEI, utilities are currently working to connect more than 80 large-load projects nationwide. Many of these developments are linked to new data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities, both of which require massive and reliable electricity supply.
Several major utilities have already seen a surge in demand from these projects. Companies including Duke Energy, Entergy, Northern Indiana Public Service Company and Xcel Energy all have large data center developments underway within their service territories.
The increasing scale of these facilities reflects broader trends in the digital economy. Data centers supporting artificial intelligence systems, cloud computing services and hyperscale storage facilities are expanding rapidly across the United States.
These projects can require hundreds of megawatts of power, making them among the largest electricity consumers on the grid.
Utilities and state regulators are also exploring policy tools to manage the risks associated with connecting such large loads.
According to Maloney, 20 states have already approved at least one large-load tariff, which establishes pricing structures and rules for large electricity users. An additional nine states are currently considering similar tariffs.
”Large load tariffs, processes, service regulations, and contractual terms are all tools in a broader strategy that electric companies and states can implement to reduce risk and protect customers,” Maloney said.
These policies aim to ensure that the cost of infrastructure upgrades needed to serve new industrial customers does not unfairly fall on existing ratepayers.
The filing comes as the U.S. Department of Energy evaluates new policies governing how large energy users—particularly data centers—connect to the nation’s transmission system.
The agency has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a final ruling by April 30 on proposed rules that would clarify how these projects access the power grid.
The outcome could shape how utilities plan future transmission upgrades, interconnection timelines and cost-sharing arrangements for large industrial energy users.
The rapid rise of data center construction and other energy-intensive industries is reshaping how utilities plan generation, transmission and grid reliability investments.
Industry analysts say the scale of expected demand growth is forcing utilities to rethink infrastructure planning, transmission capacity and generation resources.
As artificial intelligence computing, cloud services and high-tech manufacturing continue to expand, utilities are likely to face ongoing pressure to accelerate grid upgrades while ensuring reliability and affordability for existing customers.
Originally reported by Ethan Howland, Senior Reporter in Utility Dive.
