North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) stakeholders have approved proposed reliability standards for AI data centers, cryptocurrency mining facilities and other large computational loads. The vote advances the rules, but they still need approval from NERC’s Board of Trustees and, if adopted, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The standards follow a NERC alert issued in May after incidents in which data centers unexpectedly shed load or rapidly changed their electricity demand, creating potential risks for regional grid stability. The alert called for immediate actions while longer-term requirements were developed.
NERC says the new rules are intended to support the reliable connection of large computational loads to the bulk power system. They address interconnection studies and modeling, operational data and communications, load protection coordination, and disturbance monitoring.
The proposals also set out requirements for modeling information, verification and reporting to help assess transmission-system reliability. They would ensure that transmission operators, balancing authorities and reliability coordinators have the site data and communication capabilities needed to plan for and manage these loads.
The standards would apply to computational loads of at least 50 megawatts connected at voltage levels of 100 kilovolts or higher.
The rules come as electricity demand is rising after decades of relatively flat growth, with data centers contributing to higher forecasts. NERC projected that summer peak demand across the bulk power system could increase by 224 gigawatts over the next decade—24% above 2025 levels.
NERC’s board is expected to consider the standards in the fourth quarter.
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