The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is set to establish new data center interconnections standards, impacting on Maryland and surrounding states.
FERC indicated that it expects to take action in June on a Department of Energy proposal aimed at improving how very large new electric loads, including data centers, connect to the grid. At the center of the discussion is a familiar but increasingly urgent question: how to accommodate major new demand while maintaining clarity around cost responsibility, decision-making authority, and the respective roles of federal and state regulators. As states and regional transmission organizations continue developing their own approaches, those jurisdictional lines are becoming more consequential.
For Maryland, these new standards could carry significant consequences. Growth in data centers across the PJM region has been a major driver of mounting strain on the regional electric grid, including contributing to the conditions that led to a forced outage near Baltimore City in August 2025. Although counties are generally preempted from regulating the siting of electric generation facilities, they retain broad authority over the siting of large-load users, including data centers. As energy availability and electricity costs become increasingly important concerns, local policymakers should be watching these developments closely.
