PJM Interconnection, which manages the electric grid serving roughly 67 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C., is moving to overhaul its infrastructure as AI-driven data centers consume power at a pace that was not anticipated.

First-ever capacity shortfall

PJM’s capacity auction, the mechanism used to ensure sufficient power generation is available to meet future demand, did not secure enough supply for the June 2027 through May 2028 delivery period. It is the first time this has occurred in the grid operator’s history.

PJM projects that data centers alone will add more than 30 gigawatts of additional peak electricity demand by 2030. For context, 30 GW is roughly the output of 30 nuclear power plants operating at full capacity.

Capacity prices rose from $28.92 per megawatt-day in the 2024/25 period to $329.17 per megawatt-day for 2026/27. That is more than a tenfold increase, reflecting how quickly new large-load demand is reshaping the planning assumptions used by the grid operator and its members.

Emergency measures and infrastructure spending

In May 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy issued an emergency order giving PJM authority to curtail power to data centers with backup generation capabilities during grid emergencies.

PJM is also pursuing a broader response. The grid operator plans a reliability backstop procurement auction for Autumn 2026. In addition, PJM approved a $6.7 billion transmission investment plan in February 2025 aimed at reducing congestion in Northern Virginia, where the density of data centers has strained existing grid infrastructure. Those steps matter because transmission and generation additions typically take time to come online, while demand from large data centers can arrive in concentrated clusters.

Relevance for crypto and digital asset operators

The situation also has implications for demand-response participants. Some Bitcoin mining operations have structured their businesses as flexible load, shutting down during peak demand periods in exchange for favorable electricity rates.

PJM’s emergency curtailment authority over data centers with backup generation could potentially serve as a framework that later extends to large-scale mining facilities as well.

Estimates suggest that the increase in capacity prices could add more than $100 billion in costs for consumers through 2033.