AI data centers in the US may face power cuts under PJM reliability proposal
High risk for new builds
While PJM coordinates the wholesale electricity grid across 13 states, including Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, etc., and the District of Columbia, not every data center will be affected by this development.
The proposal is expected to primarily impact new facilities that will fail to secure dedicated or contracted power supplies.
“The data centers most at risk are new ones being built that haven’t signed contracts for their own power source yet, especially smaller or newer companies without deep pockets. Giant companies like Amazon, Google, or Microsoft can more easily afford to build their own backup power, so they’re safer. The riskiest locations are places already packed with data centers, like Northern Virginia and growing areas in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, where the local power grid is already stretched thin,” noted Jain.
