2026-06-18T16:16:41.324Z / reuters.com
- 摘要
- 电网运营商和输电所有者有60天时间为现行规则辩护或提出修改方案
- 命令覆盖联邦能源监管委员会管辖范围内的六个区域电网，不包括得克萨斯州
纽约6月18日路透社电——美国顶级能源监管机构周四下令该国电网运营商考虑新规程，以便快速对接数据中心等超大型电力用户，同时避免推高成本和停电风险。
数据中心正推动美国电力使用量创下历史新高，美国大片地区的电力需求超过了电网供应能力，促使监管机构紧急制定办法应对这种爆发式增长的需求。
路透社《电力升级》新闻简报为您提供全球能源行业的所有关键资讯。点击此处订阅
美国联邦能源监管委员会（FERC）起草的“说明理由”命令要求其管辖范围内的六个区域电网（不包括得克萨斯州）为其对接大型电力用户的流程辩护或进行全面改革。FERC表示，此举主要目的是加快数据中心的并网速度，同时尽可能降低对电网稳定性和美国民众电费账单的影响。
“这是我国当前面临的最优先事项，”FERC主席劳拉·斯韦特说道。
FERC的这项命令是遵循美国能源部长克里斯·赖特去年发布的指令，该指令要求加快数据中心并网进度，作为美国在全球人工智能技术开发和部署竞赛中获胜目标的一部分。
“这是一场与时间的赛跑，我们必将获胜，”斯韦特在新闻发布会上表示。
「停滞不前不再是选项」
电网运营商和输电所有者有60天时间回应FERC，解释为何现行规则合理，或是是否将在五大领域做出调整。这些领域包括建立对接数据中心等超大型电力用户的清晰流程，以及由大型电力客户承担为其服务所需的基础设施成本。
FERC在命令中还鼓励建立超大型电力用户自备电源的新框架，例如建设自有电厂。该监管机构敦促电网运营商整合先进技术，提高现有基础设施的使用效率。
数据中心和电厂开发商的倡导者普遍支持FERC向电网运营商下达的指令。
“电网和此前的政策并非为人工智能基础设施所带来的需求速度和规模而设计，FERC传递出的信号是，停滞不前不再是选项，”代表数据中心开发商和电力公司等客户的杜安·莫里斯律所合伙人罗伯特·蒙特霍说道。
部分清洁能源倡导者也表示，FERC的指令是朝着正确方向迈出的一步。
“我们备受鼓舞，因为现在有明确路径可以采纳负责任的大型负荷并网政策，保障电网可靠性、提高透明度，并为美国家庭嵌入可负担性和纳税人保护条款，”塞拉俱乐部在一份声明中说道。
在其一系列命令中，FERC还表示，将不再根据《国家环境政策法》自动在规则制定过程中考虑累积环境影响。
“我们不再浪费宝贵的员工和申请人的时间与金钱，去进行法律中并无必要的分析，”斯韦特说道。
莱拉·基尼在纽约报道；马克·波特、罗德·尼克尔编辑
本机构遵从：路透社汤森路透信托原则。
Top US energy regulator pushes grids to overhaul data center power rules
2026-06-18T16:16:41.324Z / reuters.com
Electrical transmission poles and lines are shown in the early morning of a hot summer day in Commerce, California, U.S, August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Summary
- Grid operators and transmission owners have 60 days to justify current rules or propose changes
- Orders cover six regional grids under FERC jurisdiction and exclude Texas
NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) – The top U.S. energy regulator ordered the country’s electric grid operators on Thursday to consider new protocols to quickly connect very large energy users, such as data centers, without driving up costs and the risk of blackouts.
Data centers are pushing U.S. electricity use to record highs and requiring more electricity in large swaths of the country than grids can supply, sending regulators scrambling to develop ways to manage that explosive demand.
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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission draft “show cause” orders direct the six regional grids under its jurisdiction, which excludes Texas, to justify or overhaul their process for powering large energy users. The aim, FERC said, is largely to speed up the connection of data centers while minimizing the impact on grid stability and power bills for Americans.
“This is the biggest priority our country is facing at the moment,” FERC Chairman Laura Swett said.
FERC’s order follows a directive by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright last year to expedite the connection of data centers as part of the country’s objective of winning a global race to develop and roll out AI technologies.
“This is a race against time, and we are going to win,” Swett said at a press conference.
‘STANDING STILL NO LONGER AN OPTION’
Grid operators and transmission owners have 60 days to respond to FERC and explain why their current rules are justified or whether they will make changes in five main categories. Those categories include having clear processes for connecting very large energy users, such as data centers, and allocating costs to the large energy customers for the infrastructure needed to serve them.
FERC, in its orders, also encouraged new frameworks for very large energy users to bring their own power supplies, such as by building their own plants. The regulator implored grid operators to integrate advanced technologies to make existing infrastructure more efficient.
Advocates for data center and power plant developers generally supported FERC’s directive to grid operators.
“The grid and prior policy were not built for the pace and scale of demand we’re seeing from AI infrastructure, and FERC is signaling that standing still is no longer an option,” Robert Montejo, a partner at Duane Morris, who represents clients including data center developers and power companies.
Some clean energy advocates also said FERC’s directives were a step in the right direction.
“We are energized that there is a clear path forward to adopt responsible large load interconnection policies that safeguard reliability, improve transparency, and embed affordability and ratepayer protections for American households,” the Sierra Club said in a statement.
In its series of orders, FERC also said it would no longer automatically consider cumulative environmental impacts in its rulemaking under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“We are no longer going to waste valuable staff and applicant time and money doing an analysis that is not necessary under the law,” Swett said.
Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Mark Porter, Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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