The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is set to comprehensively review grid connection procedures for large power-consuming facilities such as artificial intelligence (AI) data centres. The move follows a judgment that the existing power grid system is failing to keep up with rapidly rising electricity demand for AI infrastructure.

On June 19 local time, online outlet Gigazine reported that FERC approved a draft “Show Cause Order” requiring regional transmission organisations to review grid connection procedures for large power demand customers.

Under the order, six regional transmission organisations and transmission facility owners under FERC jurisdiction must explain the validity of current rules or submit proposals for institutional improvements within 60 days of the order’s issuance.

The key aim is to resolve delays in connecting AI data centres to the grid. As competition in generative AI accelerates, big tech companies are announcing successive data centre construction plans worth billions of dollars. In some regions, projects are increasingly being delayed as approval for grid connections and securing transmission facilities can take years.

FERC sees the current connection system as failing to keep pace with the growth of the AI industry. It has begun reviewing ways for large power-consuming facilities to connect to the grid more quickly. The commission said the purpose of the move is “to accelerate data centre connections while minimising impacts on grid stability and the electricity-bill burden on general consumers.” It also included in its review ways to prevent connection costs for specific companies from being passed on to ordinary households or business users as demand from very large data centres surges.

The new system also included an option for data centre operators to build their own generation facilities to secure independent power sources. FERC also required regional transmission organisations to actively consider introducing advanced technologies that could raise utilisation of existing power infrastructure. The move is seen as an attempt to redesign the broader U.S. power grid operating system, beyond simply adjusting the order of connections.

FERC commissioners unanimously backed the draft. Chair Laura Swett (로라 스웨트) called the vote a “historic measure” and said it was a decision to advance the U.S. electricity market for the future by maintaining stable power supply while respecting state authority, and by ensuring that costs for very large power users are not shifted onto general consumers.

The decision comes as infrastructure competition around the AI industry intensifies. In the United States, demand for data centre construction is surging, but beyond grid-connection delays, project schedules are also being pushed back by a combination of permitting procedures, local opposition, shortages of key components such as transformers, and a lack of skilled workers.

The industry sees that if grid-connection problems are not resolved, there could be limits to expanding investment in AI data centres.

As a result, over the next 60 days, what improvement proposals regional transmission organisations submit, and what strategies data centres choose between using existing grids and building their own generation facilities, are expected to emerge as key variables in U.S. AI infrastructure competitiveness.