Massachusetts audits data-center queues above 25MW

Massachusetts’s Department of Public Utilities ordered Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil to disclose every queued data-center project above 1 MW and every large-load request above 25 MW in a September 24 directive implementing Executive Order 658. The state order is meant to flush speculative projects from interconnection queues before they consume study capacity meant for housing, businesses, and distributed energy. Data-center developers should treat a queue position as a claim to verify—not capacity to underwrite—using the same utilization-before-capex discipline in the site’s AI-fabric qualification gate.