## Maryland Challenges PJM Over $1.6 Billion Power Bill Shift to Subsidize Northern Virginia Data Centers
Maryland regulators have sounded the alarm over a projected $1.6 billion in additional power costs that state residents could be forced to pay over the next decade—costs that officials say are being unfairly shifted to subsidize transmission upgrades primarily serving data centers in Northern Virginia. The Maryland Office of People's Counsel (OPC) has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), challenging how PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest grid operator, allocates costs for transmission expansion projects that feed directly into Northern Virginia's booming data center corridor.

The complaint targets what OPC describes as an inequitable cost allocation system that forces Maryland ratepayers to shoulder billions in infrastructure expenses driven by demand they did not create and from which they will see little to no benefit. People's Counsel David Lapp stated bluntly that Maryland residents "neither caused the need for the transmission line projects nor will they meaningfully benefit from them." The filing specifically challenges PJM's cost rules, arguing that the grid operator's methodology unfairly assigns approximately $2 billion in data center-driven transmission costs to Maryland consumers.

The dispute highlights growing tensions over who pays for the massive infrastructure investments required to support the explosive growth of data centers, particularly in Northern Virginia's "Data Center Alley," which has become one of the world's largest concentrations of computing infrastructure. As data center demand continues to strain regional power grids, the question of cost allocation across state lines is likely to intensify, with Maryland's complaint potentially setting a precedent for how FERC handles similar disputes in other jurisdictions. The case underscores the broader challenge of balancing regional energy infrastructure needs against the principle that costs should fall on those who create the demand.
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- **Source**: ZeroHedge
- **Sector**: The Network
- **Tags**: data centers, PJM Interconnection, Maryland, FERC, transmission costs
- **Credibility**: unverified
- **Published**: 2026-05-08 19:24:50
- **ID**: 80765
- **URL**: https://whisperx.ai/en/intel/80765