The federal regulators who oversee the nation's electricity markets are days away from a decision that could reshape how America powers the artificial intelligence boom, and who pays for it.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has pledged action by the end of June on a rulemaking to integrate the surge in data center demand into a transmission system built for a slower, more predictable era.

The stakes range from household power bills to the pace of AI buildout itself.

The proceeding, Docket No. RM26-4-000, traces to an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in October 2025 by the U.S. Secretary of Energy, directing FERC to consider reforms for the "timely, orderly, and equitable integration" of large new loads.

Commission staff has since reviewed more than 3,500 pages of public comment.

Chairman Laura V. Swett said the agency is "addressing this challenge head-on" as data centers reshape the nation's transmission landscape.

The pressure point is PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. grid operator, which serves more than 65 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia, including the data center hubs of Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

PJM's independent market monitor found that data centers, both existing and forecast, accounted for roughly 40% of the $16.4 billion in costs in the grid's most recent capacity auction.

Two paths now dominate the debate.

One would funnel hyperscale loads into the regular grid, forcing utilities, regulators, and ratepayers to absorb the cost of new transmission and generation.

The other would allow data centers to connect directly to power plants or build their own on-site generation, operating outside the broader grid, at least initially.

FERC has been laying groundwork.

In December 2025, it ordered PJM to adopt transparent rules for loads co-located with generation.

In January, it approved the Southwest Power Pool's High Impact Large Load initiative, a framework for fast-tracking interconnections of major customers alongside the generation needed to serve them.

Both moves signal that the commission is trying to channel, not block, the rush of demand.

The operative question for the June order is who bears the cost and the risk: existing customers, who could see bills climb further in PJM's footprint, or the tech firms whose load is driving the buildout.

PJM's 2026 long-term forecast projects summer peak demand rising from 160 GW in 2025 to 253 GW by 2046, a 58% increase the grid operator attributes primarily to data centers.

As of June 13, FERC had not yet issued the final order, which is expected later this month and will set the template other regulators are likely to follow.