Grid manager delays data center power auction over concern on who gets the bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A plan to add more power to the electric grid has been postponed after federal regulators raised concerns about who would pay for it.

PJM Interconnection, which manages the power grid for Ohio and 12 other states, had planned to open a special auction Wednesday. The goal was to buy more electricity for peak usage times like the dead of winter and hottest summer days.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission agreed PJM needed more power but said the operator “did not adequately ensure that the procurement’s costs will be allocated to the customers who drive its need.”

PJM already bought enough power for day-to-day demand during its regular auction this summer, but it fell short of the amount it wanted for emergencies.

FERC agreed that PJM needed a backstop. But it said the grid operator “did not adequately ensure that the procurement’s costs will be allocated to the customers who drive its need.”

FERC Commissioner Lindsay See put it more plainly.

“PJM must better ensure that the customers driving new costs bear appropriate responsibility for them and that existing customers are not left paying the bill instead,” See wrote in a statement.

That is where Ohio comes in.

PJM runs the regional grid, but states still play a major role in deciding how utilities charge different kinds of customers. Ohio has not adopted statewide rules that clearly put data-center-related costs on data centers.

The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel warned about that gap.

It told FERC months ago that PJM was counting on states to protect families, even though Ohio has not put those protections in place.

“Ohio families should not subsidize data center development,” said Rep. Tristan Rader, a Lakewood Democrat. “I support pausing PJM’s backstop auction until there are enforceable protections against sticking households and Ohio’s existing businesses with that bill.”

FERC suspended the auction for up to five months, but it could happen sooner if PJM submits fixes that regulators accept.

PJM said it is “reviewing the order and intends to work quickly to address the Commission’s remaining concerns.”