Data Center Deep Dives: Interconnection, Gas, and Grid Access–The Path to Power

The race to secure power for hyperscale data centers is colliding with a federal and state regulatory landscape that is evolving in real time. As demand for power continues to outpace grid planning cycles, the rules governing how large loads interconnect, acquire power, and access natural gas infrastructure are evolving rapidly. At the same time, federal regulators are accelerating regulatory approaches to facilitate the development of new natural gas infrastructure. These regulatory dynamics directly affect project siting, cost allocation, speed to power, and long-term operational certainty.

The firm hosted the fourth session in our Data Center Deep Dives series. This program focused on energy regulatory considerations specifically related to interconnecting and acquiring power, the growing role of natural gas in supporting data center operations, and the federal regulatory landscape shaped by FERC.

Participants gained practical insight into:

• Federal and state energy regulatory frameworks
• Natural gas as a power source for data centers
• Large load growth and the evolution of FERC policy on grid access
• FERC's role in determining cost responsibility for serving large loads
• Federal regulatory issues raised by co located load and bring your own generation arrangements

This session was designed for developers, operators, investors, utilities, and public sector partners navigating the increasingly complex energy regulatory landscape surrounding large load data center projects.