U.S. regulators ordered grid operators to fast-track data center connections, but power generation capacity remains the bottleneck.

What happened: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directed six major grid operators to connect data centers to the electricity grid more quickly. Data centers must pay the interconnection costs. Grid operators have 30 days to report available generating capacity and 60 days to review their electricity rates. FERC also told grid operators to accommodate on-site power generation for data centers.

Why it matters: Data center electricity demand is expected to nearly triple through 2035, but the grid was built for near-zero growth over the past two decades. Wholesale electricity rates have already risen as much as 267% compared with five years ago. Many companies cannot connect to the grid in time and have turned to expensive on-site power instead. FERC was pushed to act after the Secretary of Energy warned that slow grid connections threatened U.S. competitiveness in AI.

What to watch: FERC's orders do not address the shortage of generating capacity itself—new power plants face their own long connection queues. The Trump administration is simultaneously canceling offshore wind projects; it has now spent about $2.6 billion（約4200億円） to scuttle these developments, including one Invenergy project that would have generated as much as 2.4 gigawatts of power.