Today, POLITICO Energy reporter Kelsey Tamborrino sits down for an exclusive interview with Laura Swett, the chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, after the agency released a new strategy recently for managing the growing demand data centers are placing on America’s power grid. They discuss why FERC rejected a one-size-fits-all national rule and what this historic decision means for the data center boom and every day Americans. Kelsey Tamborrino is a reporter covering clean energy for POLITICO. Nirmal Mulaikal is the co-host and executive producer of POLITICO Energy. KJ Cline is the video producer for POLITICO Energy. Matt Daily is the energy editor for POLITICO. Debra Kahn is the editorial director for energy and environmental coverage at POLITICO. Veronica Tejera is the deputy head of Audio/Video at POLITICO. Our theme music is by Pran Bandi. Follow the show on Apple, Spotify, Youtube and Instagram. Follow POLITICO here: ➤ X: https://x.com/politico/ ➤ Instagram: / politico ➤ Facebook: / politico For more reporting on energy and the environment, subscribe to Power Switch, our free evening newsletter: https://www.politico.com/power-switch And for even deeper coverage and analysis, read our Morning Energy newsletter by subscribing to POLITICO Pro: https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter-archive/morning-energy

FERC's Swett explains the agency’s historic data center plan

POLITICO Energy

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Hey, welcome back to the POLITICO Energy podcast, where we explore the stories and people shaping energy and climate policy. I'm Nirmal Malaykal, your Wednesday and Friday host and executive producer of the show. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is requiring the nation's power grid operators to answer increasingly urgent questions, like how should data centers connect to the U.S. power grid and who should pay the costs of that buildout?

Last week, FERC decided against creating one national rulebook or regulation for handling those costs. Instead, it released a strategy that would put it on the states and regions to figure it out through show-cause orders. That's basically regulatory jargon for telling the regional grid operators to explain why their current rules are fair and reasonable or to propose new ones.

The decision has drawn support from both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, and it comes at a pivotal moment. President Donald Trump and major technology companies are pushing to build more data centers in order to win the AI race. But there's growing concern about whether America's power grid can keep up and if those costs will eventually get passed on to you and me.

FERC's Swett explains the agency’s historic data center plan

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

FERC's Swett explains the agency’s historic data center plan

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.