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PUC commissioner warns council that large data centers could strain Pennsylvania grid
Summary
A Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission commissioner told Northampton County Council that rapid growth of hyperscale data centers, if not managed with additional generation or transmission, could raise costs and threaten reliability; she urged councils to press developers to bring their own generation and to temper growth while the market adds capacity.
Commissioner Kim Barrow of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission told Northampton County Council on May 21 that the recent surge of large data-center projects poses risks to electric reliability and could raise costs for other ratepayers unless the growth is managed.
Barrow described Pennsylvania's place in the 14‑state PJM regional power market, recounted lessons from storms that exposed vulnerabilities in the generation fleet and transmission system, and said the pace and scale of new hyperscale data centers — some seeking capacity comparable to a nuclear plant — are changing demand projections. "We need generation, we need transmission, and we also need to temper expectations with the data centers," she told the council.
She said the commission is encouraging large users to bring on-site generation or otherwise plan to avoid leaning on residential and small‑commercial customers. Barrow also noted recent volatility in PJM capacity-auction prices tied to load forecasts, which she said could translate into multi‑billion‑dollar impacts across the region's ratepayers if forecasts materialize.
Barrow recommended that local officials ask applicants what plans they have for generation and how siting decisions might affect local infrastructure, affordability and land use. She said the commission issued a large-load tariff model to help distribution companies ensure large new customers do not shift costs to smaller classes.
Council members said the briefing was timely given local interest in siting and potential grid impacts. The presentation was introductory and intended to prompt further local questions about permitting, transmission upgrades and how municipal officials can engage with utility regulators and the PJM interconnection process.
