PJM Proposes Reliability Standards Requiring Large Load Ride-Through During Grid Disturbances

PJM introduced a proposal at its Sept. 8, 2026 Planning Committee meeting to establish new interconnection reliability standards requiring Large Load facilities (data centers, crypto-mining) to remain connected to the grid ('ride through') during normally cleared transmission system disturbances by meeting minimum voltage and frequency ride-through requirements, rather than disconnecting and switching to backup generation.

The proposal responds to a July 22, 2026 event in which nearly 4,000 MW of data center load unexpectedly disconnected in northern Virginia, causing imbalances and voltage/frequency spikes that PJM and Dominion had to manage. It is the third such measurable event in two years, prompting PJM to call current Large Load operating behavior 'unsustainable.' The standards would directly affect how rapidly growing computational load (data centers, crypto-mining) interconnects with and operates on the PJM system, with implications for system reliability across other ISOs and for FERC-directed tariff reform.

This is a reliability/interconnection design intervention rather than a price-formation mechanism, but it has material market-design consequences: it would impose new technical obligations on Large Load interconnection customers (a growing category of price-inelastic, high-growth demand), potentially affecting interconnection queue processes, capacity accreditation assumptions, and ancillary/reserve requirements tied to unexpected load loss. The FERC order underlying this action signals a broader regulatory push (mirrored by MISO, ERCOT, and NERC) to formalize ride-through and ramp-rate obligations for Large Loads across US markets, which could reshape interconnection tariffs and market participant obligations in PJM and beyond. The transition plan for existing facilities also raises design questions about legacy/grandfathering treatment versus new entrants.

PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT); FERC Order dated June 18, 2026 directing PJM to identify gaps in Large Load reliability evaluation processes

PC Special Session – Large Load Ride Through Education · 15 Sept 2026

Primary sources