Grid operators and transmission owners have 60 days to respond to FERC and explain why their ​current rules are justified or whether they will make changes in five main categories. Those categories include having clear processes for connecting very large ‌energy ⁠users, such as data centers, and allocating costs to the large energy customers for the infrastructure needed to serve them.

FERC, in its orders, also encouraged new frameworks for very large energy users to bring their own power supplies, such as by building their own plants. The regulator implored grid operators to integrate advanced technologies to make existing infrastructure more efficient.

Advocates for data center and power ​plant developers generally supported FERC's directive ​to grid operators.

"The grid and ⁠prior policy were not built for the pace and scale of demand we're seeing from AI infrastructure, and FERC is signaling that standing still is no longer an option," Robert Montejo, a ​partner at Duane Morris, who represents clients including data center developers and power companies.

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