Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
PJM warns data‑center load growth strains grid; forecasts potential voltage risk by mid‑2027
Summary
Jason Stanek of PJM outlined regional grid capacity shortfalls tied in part to rapid data‑center growth, warned of potential voltage collapse in Maryland by mid‑2027 without new resources or transmission, and described planning, queue and capacity market constraints.
Jason Stanek, executive director of governmental relations for PJM, told the Prince George’s County task force that rapid data‑center growth is a major driver of recent increases in electricity demand and that Maryland faces an urgent reliability challenge unless new generation, storage or transmission is brought online in the near term.
“We are the largest power grid in North America,” Stanek said, describing PJM as the region’s operator and planner for high‑voltage transmission. He said PJM serves about 67 million customers across 13 states and that Maryland accounts for “just over 6,000,000” customers inside that footprint.
Stanek said PJM estimates data centers currently account for about 4% of the power crossing the control room and that figure could triple to roughly 12% over the next four years as new projects come online. He highlighted two structural problems: retirements of thermal plants in Maryland and rapid load growth from new large, 24/7 customers (data centers),…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
