FERC announced that it needs until June 2026 to act on the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) initiated by the Secretary of Energy asking it to claim jurisdiction over the interconnection of large loads to the transmission system.

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright had asked for a ruling, which would have proceeded to the NOPR stage, by April 30.

“Our nation stands at a pivotal moment as we face rapid growth in demand from data centers and other large-scale consumers that are reshaping our transmission landscape,” FERC Chair Laura Swett said in a statement. “I want to reassure the public that we are addressing this challenge head-on, working tirelessly and collaboratively with stakeholders and federal partners to deliver real solutions. I encourage everyone to stay tuned as we build a resilient energy future together.”

FERC must balance speed with the need of responding to arguments in a voluminous docket because failure to do so would leave its actions vulnerable to court appeals. Hundreds of comments and replies totaling 3,500 pages have been filed in RM26-4, and in cases like it appeals are the norm. (See Parties Warn FERC Jurisdictional Fight Could Slow Data Center Connection Effort.)

Since the ANOPR was issued in October, FERC has been approving rules for specific markets meant to speed up data center interconnection.

It directed PJM to implement transparent rules to accommodate substantial loads co-located with generation resources. (See FERC Directs PJM to Issue Rules for Co-locating Generation and Load.)

It approved SPP’s High Impact Large Load (HILL) initiative in January 2026, which is meant to accelerate the interconnection of large loads and generators built to serve them. (See FERC Approves SPP’s Large Load Interconnection Process.)

FERC has approved other proposed tariffs and agreements for specific large load interconnections, while rejecting proposals that exceed its jurisdiction or lack reasonable cost allocation.