Many MindedGrid operators are trading faster connections for flexible data center load
Seyed Madaeni, CEO and co-founder of energy software firm Verse, argues in a Utility Dive opinion piece (Nov. 6, 2026) that data centers can get power sooner without special treatment. His point is that developers are not stuck choosing between waiting years for grid upgrades and building private onsite plants. A third path is to give the grid more certainty: minimum payments, demand cuts during grid strain, better operating data, or contracting new generation and storage.
He points to several arrangements already taking shape. In Ohio, regulators approved a settlement after AEP Ohio proposed a data-center tariff. Large customers pay for up to 85% of subscribed capacity even if they use less, with longer contracts and more collateral. The connection moratorium was lifted. In ERCOT's Batch Zero process, developers can accept dispatchable curtailment under ERCOT real-time control in return for earlier energization, subject to ride-through, modeling, stability and interconnection reviews. Southwest Power Pool's High Impact Large Load framework can finish an interconnection study within 90 days if developers accept real-time forecast reporting, ramp-rate limits and remote-disconnect capability.
Why it matters for abundance: grid access is a bottleneck for computing capacity, and the cost of waiting or self-generating ends up in what digital services cost. If flexibility and financial commitment reliably buy faster connection, new load can be added with less new infrastructure and with costs borne by those causing them. That is our reading, not a proven result.
Caveats: this is an opinion piece by an executive whose company sells battery dispatch software to data centers. PJM's proposed framework for curtailable new loads was mostly rejected by FERC in October on jurisdictional grounds, so it is not in force as proposed. In June, FERC told all six regional operators under its jurisdiction to justify or reform their large-load tariffs, so rules may shift. The source text was also cut off mid-sentence, and claims of cheaper global cloud services are not supported by what we have.
Source: Utility Dive