Pennsylvania Gov. Directs "Rapid" Development Of Rules By PUC To Assign PJM Backstop Reliability Costs

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has signed a wide-ranging executive order concerning data centers that, among other things, directs the "rapid" development of rules and orders by the Pennsylvania PUC to address the allocation of PJM Backstop reliability costs and related obligations

Under the executive order, the governor's special counsel for energy shall work with the PUC to "advocate" for the "rapid" development of rules, procedures, and orders to establish utility tariffs that would, among other things, "Charge the appropriate data center customers for any PJM reliability backstop auction costs in accordance with the procedures ultimately approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in docket ER26-3380-000[.]"

The Governor will also seek PUC orders that prevent an electric utility from charging non-data center customers for backstop auction costs, "including in the event that a data center becomes insolvent or is otherwise not able to pay the auction costs assigned to it[.]"

The Governor will also seek PUC provisions that would require that each electric utility that has received a request to interconnect a data center in its territory shall file with the PUC revisions to both its pre-emergency interim resource adequacy service (IRAS) and emergency load control procedures, so that utilities curtail data centers prior to any other customer during pre-emergency IRAS or emergency events, unless the data center customer has secured incremental electric capacity for the entirety of its demand

The Governor also seeks, at the PUC, the implementation of credits pertaining to PJM’s pre-emergency IRAS program following the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s ultimate disposition of relevant rules and procedures in docket ER26-3515-000

The Governor further seeks adjustments to the electric utilities' load forecasts, and seeks to direct the EDCs' use of the PJM large load registry

Shapiro said in remarks that the executive order will require data center developers to "bring their own power" and pay for all the costs associated with that electricity