CEA Commends FERC for Taking Action on Large Load Interconnections

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, commends the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for its commitment to protecting consumers in its recent order on large load interconnections.

“Over the past year, there has been a lot of angst over how to address consumer concerns around potential cost shifts associated with connecting large energy users, including artificial intelligence data centers, to the grid,” said CEA Executive Vice President for Public Policy and State Affairs Marc Brown. “We look forward to reviewing the final order. FERC appears to have recognized the importance of avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach to large load interconnections, which is consistent with CEA’s position.”

Brown emphasized that data centers play an increasingly important role in America’s national security, economic competitiveness, and digital infrastructure, and that legitimate consumer concerns should be addressed through facts and transparency rather than unsubstantiated fear-mongering on impacts to energy and water systems.

“Hopefully this order will stymie some of the vocal and irrational opposition to data centers. We need to move the conversation beyond broad-based opposition, and toward a more practical, fact-driven evaluation of these projects,” Brown added. “Each data center or large customer, and each interconnection request, should be treated independently and evaluated on its own merits, with proper dialogue with local communities. We appreciate FERC’s approach and its continued focus on protecting customers while supporting the infrastructure needed to power America’s growing digital economy.”

Consumer Energy Alliance | https://consumerenergyalliance.org/