NERC stakeholders approve reliability standards for AI data centers, crypto miners

NERC stakeholders approved new reliability standards for AI data centers, crypto mining facilities and other computational loads, an important step toward finalization, the grid watchdog said Thursday. The standards now head to the NERC Board of Trustees for a vote and, if adopted, will be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for final approval, according to Utility Dive.

As written, they would apply to computational loads of 50 MW or more connected at voltage levels of at least 100 kV. NERC said the standards aim to “establish requirements to support the reliable integration of large computational loads into the bulk power system.”

The package builds on a Level 3 alert NERC issued in May, after several incidents in which data centers unexpectedly dropped load or oscillated demand rapidly, threatening the stability of regional grids. The alert included seven actions grid entities “must implement to address immediate risks posed by computational loads” while permanent rules are created, NERC said.

Multiple standards for computational loads were developed as part of NERC Project 2026-02, including requirements around interconnection studies and modeling; operational data and communications; and load protection coordination and disturbance monitoring. Among other requirements, the standards establish modeling data, verification, and reporting procedures “for development of planning horizon cases necessary to support analysis of the reliability of the interconnected transmission system.” They are designed to ensure transmission operators, balancing authorities and reliability coordinators have computational load site data needed “to plan, monitor, and assess the reliable operation” of the bulk power system, and to establish communication capabilities with predefined protocols to ensure prompt action.

Summer peak demand across the bulk power system is forecast to grow by 224 GW over the next 10 years, a 24% increase from 2025 peak demand, NERC said in January. The organization said on its standards development project site that “these loads are reshaping the demand profile and exposing reliability gaps in both operational and planning time horizons.” As described, the obligations run through transmission operators, balancing authorities and reliability coordinators — the entities that would hold and act on load site data — rather than being framed as direct requirements on the computing facilities themselves.

The coverage does not say when the NERC Board of Trustees will vote, leaving the timing of any filing with FERC open.