Data Center Load Runs Into the Grid-Bill Fight
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 · 8 min

Microsoft and Wisconsin ratepayer advocates are challenging ATC’s data-center transmission-cost plan at FERC, while PG&E tests flexible interconnection and West Virginia PSC staff presses NextEra’s MARL line toward a pause or dismissal. The buildout is running into who-pays and who-connects constraints.
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Show notes
Microsoft and Wisconsin ratepayer advocates are challenging ATC’s data-center transmission-cost plan at FERC, while PG&E tests flexible interconnection and West Virginia PSC staff presses NextEra’s MARL line toward a pause or dismissal. The buildout is running into who-pays and who-connects constraints.
In this episode
- Microsoft challenges ATC plan for data center transmission costs — Wisconsin Watch
Microsoft challenges ATC plan for data center transmission costs The sun sets during construction of Microsoft’s data center in Mount Pleasant, Nov. 13, 2025. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch) Reading Time: 3 minutes Microsoft and Wisconsin ratepayer advocates are asking federal regulators to hit the brakes on a proposal to allocate the costs of transmission infrastructure built to serve data…
- What PG&E has learned in two years of flexible interconnection | Latitude Media — Latitude Media
# What PG&E has learned in two years of flexible interconnection | Latitude Media Author: Maeve Allsup Published: 2026-08-25T19:58:17+00:00 Source: latitudemedia.com (latitudemedia.com) Language: en ## Story What PG&E has learned in two years of flexible interconnection | Latitude Media What PG&E has learned in two years of flexible interconnection | Latitude Media - Analysis - DATA CENTERS -…
- PSC staff makes case for NextEra MARL project dismissal path | Energy and Environment | wvgazettemail.com — West Virginia Gazette-Mail
PSC staff makes case for NextEra MARL project dismissal path | Energy and Environment | wvgazettemail.com # PSC staff makes case for path to dismissing NextEra's $1B+ MARL power line project - By Mike Tony mtony@hdmediallc.com #### Mike Tony - Author twitter - Author email (mtony@hdmediallc.com) - Aug 25, 2026 - 53 mins ago - 7 min to read The staff of the West Virginia Public…
- Data centers’ hidden water footprint is linked to the grid — Latitude Media
The debate over data centers’ water use tends to focus on how much is needed to cool servers on-site. But that fails to capture the largest and least visible part of their overall use: the water used at the power plants fueling data centers’ rising energy needs. Only one hyperscaler, Meta, reports its indirect water consumption embedded in purchased electricity. That figure was more than 20 times…