A fraction of proposed data centers will get built. Utilities are wising up. | Utility Dive

Speculative data center interconnection requests flood U.S. utility queues at five to 10 times the rate of actual construction, distorting grid planning and raising the risk of costly overbuilding that ratepayers ultimately bear. Utilities are responding with standardized large-load processes, larger upfront deposits, and new rate classes — including proposals in Virginia that would require data centers to pay 60–100% of contracted demand. The article profiles policy responses in Texas, Minnesota, and Virginia alongside a proposed national standardized interconnection framework from former FERC Commissioner Allison Clements and former Meta energy director Peter Freed.