PJM delays 6.8GW data-center auction

PJM delayed its planned 6.8 GW reliability backstop procurement for data centers after FERC partially rejected parts of the proposal’s cost-allocation, transmission-owner exit and collateral rules. Utility Dive reports that a new schedule is still unknown and FERC said the plan had “billion-dollar implications” for consumers. Data-center builders should treat grid-queue cost allocation as a project gate, not an afterthought, as the archive’s analysis of AI data-center power and household bills argues.