FERC Delays DOE Data Center Interconnection Rulemaking to June

Data Centers Grid Connection & Reliability Regulatory
Marin Holt
April 24, 2026
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7 minutes read

FERC action deadline: end of June 2026
DOE original deadline: April 30, 2026
Large load threshold: 20 MW
FERC docket: Docket No. RM26-4-000

FERC committed on April 24, 2026, to act by end of June on the Department of Energy Section 403 directive to standardize how data centers and large loads exceeding 20 MW connect to the interstate transmission grid, slipping approximately two months past the DOE-requested April 30 deadline, according to Utility Dive and Snell and Wilmer analysis published April 24, 2026.

What Actually Changed

DOE Secretary Chris Wright issued the Section 403 directive on October 23, 2025, invoking a rarely used provision of the Federal Power Act to direct FERC to initiate rulemaking on large load interconnection. The directive required FERC to act by April 30, 2026. FERC created Docket No. RM26-4-000, issued a Notice Inviting Comments, and received input through early 2026. FERC’s June timeline replaces the April 30 deadline. DOE has stated it supports FERC’s plan to respond in June. The proposed reforms would allow customers to file joint, co-located load and generation interconnection requests, would reduce study times and grid upgrade costs for large loads, and would assign all network upgrade costs caused by new loads to those loads directly.

What Did Not Change

No new interconnection rules are in effect as of April 2026. Data centers and large loads continue to connect under existing grid operator tariffs. The fundamental tension that pushed the deadline to June – FERC Chair Laura Swett’s stated need to know exactly where the lines of FERC jurisdiction end and state jurisdiction begins – remains unresolved. PJM and other RTOs filed comments challenging the DOE proposal, particularly the requirement that new loads bear all upgrade costs. NARUC, representing state utility regulators, also raised federal-state jurisdiction concerns.

Enforcement Reality

Developers seeking interconnection for projects above 20 MW should plan for existing queue timelines through at least 2027 unless FERC’s June rule includes emergency fast-track provisions. A June final rule faces potential judicial review and state regulatory challenges before taking full effect. The DOE directive specifically cited AI data centers’ inability to connect in a timely, orderly, and non-discriminatory manner as the urgency driving the October 2025 action. DOE’s use of Section 403 authority is historically rare, invoked here specifically because normal FERC rulemaking timelines run 12 to 24 months.

Why It Matters

For data center developers, the two-month slip from April to June is less significant than the content of what FERC ultimately issues. If FERC adopts the DOE principle that new loads bear all network upgrade costs, large data center interconnection becomes substantially more expensive than current queue positions assume – shifting the economics of co-located power directly against projects already in development. The federal-state jurisdictional question is not an administrative technicality: if FERC’s rule conflicts with state utility commission authority over distribution infrastructure, it will face immediate legal challenge that could delay implementation by 12 to 24 months beyond the June 2026 issuance date.

Critical Perspective

FERC’s two-month slip from the DOE deadline, while framed as necessary for jurisdictional precision, effectively returns the timeline to a pace more consistent with standard rulemaking. Whether a June rule will be legally durable enough to survive utility and state challenges – or whether it will be remanded, as happened with FERC Order 2023 compliance deadlines – is the central question facing data center developers who are building grid infrastructure assumptions around a mid-2026 regulatory outcome.