Energy Department Wants Faster Grid Hookups For High Energy Users

The US energy secretary has urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to write new rules enabling big electricity consumers, such as AI data centers and Bitcoin mining operations, to connect directly and quickly to the power grid.

In a letter released on Thursday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright asked the FERC, the independent agency that regulates the interstate electricity grid, to grant expedited reviews and create standardized procedures for large electricity users to hook directly into the high-voltage transmission system, not just…