Support the POWER Up Act to establish clear, uniform federal rules for large electricity users connecting to the interstate electrical transmission grid, including FERC rulemaking on standardized large-load interconnection procedures.

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) today introduced the POWER Up Act, legislation to establish clear, uniform federal rules for how massive electricity users — anything with the load of a city, like a large data center — connect to the interstate electrical transmission grid.

Lummis announced legislation intended to create federal rules for large-load transmission-grid connections and require FERC to standardize interconnection procedures.

Lummis Introduces Legislation to Modernize Rules for High-Power Grid Connections
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FERC issued tailored show cause orders under section 206 of the Federal Power Act to each of the six regional grid operators under its jurisdiction, directing them to justify or reform rules for data centers, manufacturing facilities, and other large energy users. Each RTO/ISO and transmission owners have 60 days to justify current tariffs or file tariff changes addressing five reform categories, including efficient transmission service application and study processes, cost-shifting protections, co-location, flexible large-load services, and studies of generation serving proximate large loads.

Within the lookback window, FERC took concrete agency action on large-load grid interconnection issues similar to the policy goal, but it was a show-cause/tariff process rather than enactment of the POWER Up Act and FERC said it was not a one-size-fits-all uniform rule.

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FERC Launches Aggressive Targeted Action to Speed Large Load Integration
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The six U.S. regional grid operators and their transmission owners must provide justification within 60 days on why their current tariffs remain just and reasonable in the absence of clear and consistent provisions for large load customers, or alternatively propose changes. The orders respect region-specific market rules, leave room for each RTO and ISO to define large loads, and state that nothing intrudes on state authority over generation siting or retail electricity rates.

The FERC fact sheet confirms progress toward clearer large-load interconnection rules, while also showing the action is still pending and not a single uniform federal standard. It supports partial, not full, delivery of the commitment as of 2026-07-08.

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Fact Sheet | FERC Takes Action to Supercharge America’s Grid for Efficiency, Reliability, and a Bold Energy Future
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FERC’s June 18, 2026 meeting summaries list E-7 through E-12 for PJM, MISO, SPP, CAISO, ISO-NE, and NYISO large-load-related dockets, and state that links to each order will be provided once issued; the page says the summaries are not a substitute for the Commission’s official orders.

This confirms the Commission voted on the large-load actions in six regional grid operator dockets during the lookback window, but also indicates the underlying final orders and tariff outcomes remained procedural/pending rather than completed statutory delivery.

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Summaries | June 2026 Commission Meeting
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