FERC Directs PJM January 2026 Report on Interconnection Queue Backlog
- FERC & Federal Policy & Markets Regulatory
Marin Holt
- 0
- 5 minutes read
- FERC directed PJM, the nation's largest grid operator, to submit a status report by January 19, 2026 on its progress accelerating its interconnection queue under FERC Order 2023.
- PJM completed its Transition Cycle 1 (TC1) interconnection studies on September 22, 2025, issuing 130 draft service agreements (128 generation, 2 merchant transmission) representing 17.4 GW of combined energy output.
- The TC1 generation mix was 56% solar, 25% wind, 10% storage, 5% hybrid, and 3% natural gas; about 46 GW of transition-queue projects remain to be processed by the end of 2026.
- FERC let PJM extend its interconnection study timeline to 540 days – more than three times the 150-day cluster-study window required under Order 2023.
- The PJM queue began the transition period at roughly 200,000 MW; PJM has processed more than 170,000 MW of requests since 2023.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directed PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, to submit a status report by January 19, 2026 detailing its progress in accelerating its notoriously backlogged interconnection queue (S1). The directive stems from PJM’s reform commitments under FERC Order 2023, and it lands as PJM clears a transition queue that began at roughly 200,000 MW and spans a 13-state footprint serving 65 million people. PJM has processed more than 170,000 MW of generation requests since 2023, with about 46 GW of transition-queue projects still slated for completion by the end of 2026 (S2).
What Actually Changed
FERC’s directive imposes a formal reporting mechanism on PJM’s queue-reform efforts. PJM has already moved to a “first-ready, first-served” cluster-study approach under Order 2023, and on September 22, 2025 it completed its Transition Cycle 1 (TC1) studies – issuing 130 draft interconnection agreements (128 generation projects and 2 merchant transmission projects) representing 17.4 GW of combined energy output (S2). “This is another important step as we complete this transition phase of our reform efforts and fulfill the commitments we made to streamline the interconnection process,” said Jason Connell, PJM’s Vice President of Planning (S2). The TC1 generation mix skewed clean: 56% solar, 25% wind, 10% storage, 5% hybrid, and 3% natural gas (S2).
Why It Matters
The interconnection queue is the critical bottleneck for new energy deployment, particularly renewables and battery storage. “This is really good news for our ability to process large numbers of interconnection requests going forward,” said Donnie Bielak, PJM’s Director of Interconnection Planning (S2). But the structural strain is acute: to manage volume, PJM secured FERC permission to extend its interconnection study timeline to 540 days – more than three times the 150-day cluster-study window Order 2023 set as the baseline (S3). Developers worry that even the cleared throughput will not keep pace with demand from hyperscale data centers and other large loads. Delays translate directly into delayed completion, higher costs, and risk to state and federal clean-energy mandates.
Critical Perspective
FERC’s directive advances transparency and accountability, but the timeline tells the real story. Former FERC Chairman Mark Christie has framed the underlying problem bluntly: “The fundamental problem is that load growth driven by data centers is far exceeding any realistic possibility of new generation” (S1). With study cycles stretched to 540 days and roughly 46 GW still queued for processing through 2026, the question is whether PJM’s reforms genuinely shorten the path from application to commercial operation – or merely formalize a slower one. The TC1 results show the machinery now moves; the open question is whether it moves fast enough for the load growth bearing down on the grid.
