>"No Spare Capacity": Watchdog Warns Largest US Grid Is Maxed Out Amid Data Center Buildout
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<America's largest power grid has issued multiple 'Maximum Generation' and 'Load Management' alerts this summer, as summer heat pushes power demand to the brink with air conditioners running at full blast across the eastern half of the U.S. The deeper issue: there's not enough baseload capacity to support the explosive growth of power-hungry AI server racks at new data centers.
<"There is simply no new capacity to meet new loads," said Joe Bowring, president of Monitoring Analytics, which is the independent watchdog for PJM Interconnection, who Bloomberg quoted. "The solution is to make sure that people who want to build data centers are serious enough about it to bring their own generation."
<New AI data centers are popping up across the PJM Interconnection—the largest U.S. power grid, serving 65 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C. Part of PJM's territory includes Loudoun County, Virginia—known as 'Data Center Alley'—which is recognized as one of the world's largest hubs for data centers.
<The problem is that next-generation server racks at AI data centers are now consuming more than twice the power they did just a few years ago. For example, Nvidia's GB200 AI rack draws 120 kW, compared to 60–80 kW for the earlier HGX models. Multiply that by thousands of racks in large, hyperscale centers, and it's clear that AI computing is rapidly gobbling up grid capacity while baseload power in the form of fossil fuel power generation has been retired.
<On Sunday, we cited the EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook for July, which showed that average summer wholesale power prices across the PJM, NYISO, and ISO-NE grids are the highest in the nation. These prices now far exceed those in Texas' ERCOT, the U.S. average, and even the traditionally high-cost West Coast markets. The blame is squarely focused on the Democrats' initiative to recklessly decarbonize power grids.
>'What Do All Those PhDs Do?' - Bessent Calls For 'Fundamental Reset' Of Financial Regulations
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<Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday called for a “fundamental reset” of financial regulations to ensure they are aligned with the nation’s domestic and international priorities.
<Speaking at the Federal Reserve Capital Conference, Bessent said there is a need for “deeper reforms” in bank regulation, noting that the system has been marked by “regulation by reflex,” where bank regulators tend to introduce new rules after issues have already occurred.
<“Rather than preempting crises, regulators all too often react to them after the fact. They play the role of a hazmat cleanup team instead of preventing dangerous spillovers in the first place,” Bessent said.
<“Rather than reflexively regulate anything that hits the headlines, we need to instead be more explicit about our vision for the financial system,” he added.
<As Aldgra Fredly reports for The Epoch Times, Bessent said the Treasury will reinforce reform efforts by working to “break through policy inertia, settle turf battles, drive consensus, and motivate action to ensure no single regulator holds up reform.”
>Singapore, Vietnam agree to step up defence ties, dialogue among leaders
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