A summary of the Commission’s October 1, 2026 Tentative Order on Interim Resource Adequacy Service and emergency load control
On October 1, 2026, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission issued a Tentative Order proposing that every electric distribution company (EDC) revise its load control procedures so that large computational loads—data centers, AI facilities, and cryptocurrency mining sites—are curtailed ahead of other customers during PJM pre-emergency and emergency events, and are no longer classified as “critical load” exempt from curtailment. Comments are due 30 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin (October 17, 2026), with reply comments due 15 days later.
Why the Commission Is Acting
PJM’s most recent Base Residual Auction revealed a system-wide shortfall of 6,831 MW for the 2028/2029 Delivery Year. In response, PJM filed two proposals at FERC: a Reliability Backstop Procurement (RBP) to help new large loads procure the capacity they need, and an Interim Resource Adequacy Service (IRAS) for large loads that have not. Under IRAS, PJM could mandate load reductions for large loads not supported by their own onsite or contracted capacity before calling any Pre-Emergency Load Management Reductions. PJM proposed that IRAS take effect October 12, 2026, subject to FERC approval, so that it is available by June 1, 2027.
The Commission also cites its contractor’s analysis that, absent further policy action, PJM’s one-in-ten-year loss-of-load criterion will not be met in any year through 2030. On August 18, 2026, Governor Shapiro’s Executive Order 2026-05 encouraged the Commission to require utilities with pending data center interconnection requests to file revised pre-emergency and emergency procedures, and to prevent traditional retail customers from being charged RBP costs.
What the Commission Proposes
- Large load registry. Each EDC would maintain a registry of all large loads in its territory, existing and new, provide requested information to PJM, and make the registry available to the Commission annually to support its load forecasting oversight under Act 45 of 2025.
- IRAS procedures. EDCs would update their load control procedures under 52 Pa. Code § 57.52(b)(2) to track large computational load customers and their available MW, apportion and communicate PJM’s IRAS action requests, and shed load from those customers in the requested amounts before any other customer.
- No critical-load status for data centers. Procedures for pre-emergency and emergency events would not classify data centers as critical load exempt from curtailment. The Commission specifically asks how to define who may not be so classified.
- Compensation deferred. The EDC compensation program contemplated by PJM’s tariff is left for a future proceeding following a November 17, 2026 technical conference.
The Proposed Regulatory Text
The Appendix would amend 52 Pa. Code ch. 57. A “Computational Load Site” is a customer or applicant with anticipated peak demand of 25 MW at a single point of interconnection (or 50 MW at multiple points on a single feeder), primarily housing IT infrastructure for software services, AI, cryptocurrency mining, or other data center computation. Manufacturing facilities are excluded. The proposed § 57.53 would then sequence curtailment by event type:
| Event | Trigger | Who is curtailed |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Emergency Load Control | PJM declaration at or about EEA Level 1, before EEA Level 2 | Only Computational Load Entity customers subject to IRAS, as verified by the EDC, through mandatory interruptible rate schedules |
| Emergency Load Control | EEA Level 2 (including with a DOE 202(c) order addressing backup generation) | All Computational Load Entity customers; those on interruptible schedules must curtail per tariff terms |
| Emergency Forced Outage | EEA Level 3 | Non-Critical load before Critical load, with Critical Load Levels 1–3 protected in order |
Proposed § 57.54 would classify load for forced-outage curtailment. Critical Load Level 1 (public safety, healthcare, and critical infrastructure) and Level 3 (residential and essential commercial and industrial customers) expressly exclude computational sites. The only path to protection is a narrow Critical Load Level 2 for UPS-equipped sites that support Level 1 facilities in real time. That protection covers only the portion of demand needed for the essential service, and applies only to the extent onsite backup fails, exhausts its fuel, or reaches permit limits. To qualify, the site must certify a UPS sized for the essential load and report its NFPA 110 classification and fuel plan, obtain an attestation from the Level 1 customer under an effective commercial agreement, and electrically separate the essential equipment. Certifications are updated annually and subject to EDC inspection, and the load sizes must be set out in an addendum filed with the Commission. EDCs would also require segmentation capability as a precondition to interconnecting UPS sites, and may require enhanced metering, at the customer’s expense, sufficient to match energy delivered by electric generation suppliers to the segregated loads. Finally, proposed § 57.52(c)(8) adds customer notice and after-the-fact reporting requirements for emergency curtailments.
What Is at Stake
For data center developers and operators, the proposal would convert firm service into service that is first to be curtailed, with only a demanding, heavily documented exception. Securing new incremental capacity for the full load becomes the principal way to avoid IRAS curtailment. For EDCs, it means tariff revisions, a new registry, verification and inspection duties, and customer notice and reporting obligations. For other customers, it promises insulation from being curtailed ahead of computational load, though the cost-allocation questions in the Governor’s order are not resolved here. For suppliers and others who help large loads obtain capacity, the treatment of “contracted” capacity and the supplier-matching metering provision deserve close attention.
Several issues appear ripe for comment:
- Undefined key term. The order does not define what counts as “secured incremental capacity,” which will largely determine who is exposed to IRAS.
- Scope. The Executive Order speaks of new computational loads, but the registry covers existing and new loads, and proposed § 57.53(a)(2) would apply Emergency Load Control curtailment to all Computational Load Entity customers.
- Authority and FERC dependence. The proposal is premised on FERC approving IRAS as filed. The Commission relies on 66 Pa.C.S. § 1505(b), which permits load management programs the Commission finds prudent and cost-effective, and on its authority over EDC load control under 52 Pa. Code § 57.52.
- Drafting. Proposed § 57.53(a)(1) refers to “Incremental” rather than “Interim” Resource Adequacy Service, and the Critical Load Level 2 criteria will need to be workable in practice.
Timeline
Comments are due 30 days, and reply comments 45 days, after Pennsylvania Bulletin publication on October 17, 2026—by our calculation, November 16 and December 1, 2026, respectively. The technical conference is November 17, 2026. The Commission intends to take up a final order at its January 28, 2027 public meeting directing EDCs to file updated procedures, and a rulemaking may follow.
Source: Electric Distribution Company Interim Resource Adequacy Service, Pre-Emergency and Emergency Response Provisions, Docket No. M-2026-3064961 (Pa. P.U.C. Oct. 1, 2026) (Tentative Order), 56 Pa.B. 6852 (Oct. 17, 2026). This post is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice.