Grading the grid: How ISOs stack up against FERC’s large-load mandate

Utility Dive · Published Oct ; Twitter Facebook · 2026-10-19 05:00 UTC

Utilities, developers and investors are all left asking the same question: how close is each grid operator to meeting FERC’s mandate?

The regions attracting the most data center development are, almost without exception, the least prepared to connect it. That’s the finding from Enverus Intelligence® Research (EIR), which graded ISO/RTO large-load readiness against the five reform areas FERC identified in its June 2026 show-cause orders — orders requiring every grid operator to prove its interconnection framework can handle the 62 GW of new U.S. data center capacity expected by 2030.

Some FERC-controlled regions are further along in updating their load interconnection processes than others, while a few have barely started. ERCOT, outside FERC’s jurisdiction, is also rewriting its rulebook. The result is a patchwork of timelines, costs and risk that developers and investors must now navigate largely on their own.

Meanwhile, the legal and structural burden of evolving interconnection processes falls on utilities, which must rewrite operational playbooks, plan for short-term grid impacts, account for the unpredictable load behaviors and revise capital expenditure forecasts.

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