PJM Will Study SoftBank’s 9.6 GW Ohio Data Center Load at the State’s Request, But the Study Sets No Cost Allocation
- Data Centers Grid Capacity News
Marin Holt
- 0
- 7 minutes read
- Additional load studied: 9.6 GW
- New gas generation studied: 10.2 GW
- Initial phase: 800-MW
- Transmission: three 765-kV lines
- Agreement effective date sought: September 25, 2026
PJM Interconnection filed a study agreement at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Under it, PJM will assess a roughly 10-GW AI data center complex in Ohio planned by SoftBank Group. PJM will use the State Agreement Approach (SAA) framework that Ohio requested. The study agreement covers an additional 9.6 GW of load and 10.2 GW of new gas-fired generation. SB Energy, a SoftBank company, plans to build that generation in phases through 2032.
An AEP Ohio data center tariff will serve an initial 800-MW phase, according to PJM. AEP Ohio plans to build three 765-kV transmission lines and related infrastructure for the project. The complex is called Flagship. Most of it would sit at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a federal site in Pike County, Ohio. Some of the generation would be built about 30 miles away. PJM asked FERC to make the agreement effective on September 25, 2026, the date it was executed.
What Ohio asked for
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) asked PJM to start the SAA in a June 15, 2026 letter to PJM CEO David Mills. The letter says the SAA will assign the transmission costs to Ohio. Ohio will then allocate them to SB Energy, which has committed to pay. The letter says PUCO proceedings will set the cost-allocation and recovery approach. PUCO must also authorize any state agreement before it goes to FERC.
The Department of Energy described the deal in a March 20, 2026 fact sheet. SoftBank Group and SB Energy plan to build 10 GW of new generation to power 10 GW of data centers. At least 9.2 GW of it is natural gas generation. The fact sheet cites $33.3 billion in Japanese funding for 9.2 GW of new natural gas generation. SB Energy will invest $4.2 billion with AEP Ohio. That money pays for new 765 kV transmission lines and four substations.
Why It Matters
Under PJM’s SAA framework, consumers in the requesting state pay for the projects built under it. SB Energy says it will pay for the generation and transmission for Flagship. PJM lists two SB Energy commitments. Its infrastructure payment obligations apply regardless of how much electricity the complex uses. It will also make excess generation and transmission capacity available to the grid. But PJM says the cost allocation and cost recovery mechanisms remain subject to future PUCO and FERC proceedings.
PJM also limits what its study does. The studies will give Ohio a technical basis to decide whether to proceed. PJM says they will not select transmission projects, establish cost allocations, or grant Flagship transmission service or interconnection rights. Ohio ratepayers and other PJM members should watch the PUCO case. That case, not this study, will decide who carries the cost of the three 765-kV lines if the load arrives late or smaller.
Critical Perspective
The study covers 10.2 GW of new gas-fired generation, while DOE’s March fact sheet says at least 9.2 GW, and no source explains the difference. The payment pledge also rests on one tenant. MGRID reported in August that OpenAI agreed to take about 8 gigawatts-IT at the Pike County site, with NVIDIA guaranteeing up to $105 billion in conditional lease and power payments to SB Energy. Under the PUCO letter, the transmission costs go to Ohio first and only then to SB Energy. If the load arrives late, will PUCO require SB Energy to post security for the three 765-kV lines before AEP Ohio starts to build them?
Sources
- Utility Dive, PJM plans to study SoftBank’s Ohio AI project under state agreement approach (October 14, 2026)
- Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, Request to Initiate State Agreement Approach, letter to PJM (June 15, 2026), PJM TEAC materials (September 8, 2026)
- U.S. Department of Energy, Fact Sheet: The Department of Energy is Ensuring Affordable Energy Access in Ohio While Powering the Future of AI (March 20, 2026)
