Federal regulators at FERC issued orders directing six regional grid operators to process interconnection requests from AI data centers and other large loads in a timely manner, with unanimous commissioner approval. Data centers must cover interconnection costs, operators must report spare capacity within 30 days and address rates within 60 days, and alternative technologies plus behind-the-meter generation must be considered. At the end of 2023, queued connection requests already exceeded the capacity of the existing U.S. power plant fleet.