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New large electrical loads such as data centers are different from those of the past. They use far more electricity, and many of them need this electricity all of the time. In this sense, they do not uniformly complement residential and commercial customers by providing more generation and transmission for all to share, or by using electricity during times when others need less. In this presentation, I will explore how federal, regional, and state policies must change to accommodate these large loads while also furthering progress toward sustainability goals, ensuring equitable electricity rates, and maintaining grid reliability. It is not clear that even the best policies can achieve all of these things, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, regional grid operators, and state public utility and service commissions should aspire to these goals. I will argue for enhanced interconnection processes for new, zero-carbon generation and large loads; ratemaking principles that require large loads to directly pay for new generation, transmission, and distribution costs caused; and reliability standards specific to new large loads. Some regulators have already begun to implement these types of principles, but at too slow of a pace. Without urgent policy attention to large load growth, this growth could send shock waves through the system. In some regions, it already has.

Hannah Wiseman received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and her J.D. from Yale Law School. She taught at the University of Texas School of Law (teaching fellowship) and at the University of Tulsa College of Law and Florida State University College of Law before joining Penn State. At Penn State, she is a Professor at Penn State Dickinson Law and in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and she co-directs the Center for Energy Law and Policy. Her work focuses on resolving land use and property-based conflicts over energy and carbon management; improving electricity reliability; and designing innovative governance approaches to the energy transition.