With data centers rapidly popping up or being proposed across the commonwealth, the Public Utility Commission has announced that it will hold a “technical conference” examining the cost to power them and their effect on the reliability of the PJM Interconnection grid.
Governor Shapiro last month signed an executive order mandating that data center developers commit to his new “Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) Requirements”, and removing all A.I. data center proposals from the state’s Fast Track permitting process. Nondisclosure agreements with government bodies are also prohibited.
The PUC conference will be held on November 17th at the Commonwealth Keystone Building in Harrisburg. An agenda, format, and schedule of speakers is still being developed. You can find further information at puc.pa.gov, and below.
November 17 Technical Conference
The PUC’s technical conference regarding large computational load cost allocation will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Hearing Room 1, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120. An agenda will be posted prior to the technical conference on the PUC’s website. The technical conference will be open to the public via livestream the morning of the event.
As part of the informal educational process, Commissioners will pose questions to the panelists and will engage the panelists in discussions related to large computational load cost allocation in Pennsylvania.
Participating in the Technical Conference
Due to timing constraints of the technical conference, a limit to the number of panelists may be necessary. Interested parties who want to apply to become a panelist may do so by filling out an application and/or submitting it to CLCATechConference@pa.gov no later than Oct. 14, 2026. The application can be found on the Commission’s website at Technical Conference on Large Computational Load Cost Allocation.
Pre-conference comments will be accepted until Nov. 13, 2026. Comments must be eFiled with the Secretary of the Commission by opening an eFiling account through the Commission’s website and accepting eservice at https://www.puc.pa.gov/filing-resources/efiling/.
Following the conclusion of the technical conference, comments will be accepted from members of the public. Comments must be eFiled with the Secretary of the Commission on or before Dec. 18, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. and will be posted on the Commission’s website. Any questions regarding this technical conference should be directed to CLCATechConference@pa.gov.
