Utilities American Electric Power (AEP) and Exelon have filed an official objection with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding Talen Energy's nuclear deal with Amazon.
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In March, Amazon bought a nuclear-powered data center from Talen Energy – an operator of electricity generation and transmission facilities in the US. As part of the deal, Amazon would get 480 MW directly from the 2.7 GW Talen nuclear power plant located on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and may even be able to upgrade to 960 MW down the road.
But the Susquehanna nuclear power plant also provides power to PJM Interconnection, the regional electric grid operator for much of the eastern United States. The two companies – Talen and PJM – have an interconnection agreement (ISA) that specifies the rules for how Talen will deliver power to PJM's transmission system.
To better accommodate the nuclear data center, Talen and PJM agreed to a new ISA, which has captured AEP and Exelon. The duo argues that Talen and Amazon are essentially getting a free ride that other PJM taxpayers will have to pay for, saying that even though Amazon's data center isn't directly connected to PJM, it still benefits from the power grid, meaning the other taxpayers is left holding the short end of the stick.
