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Short answer: PJM says it does not maintain a formal data-center or other load interconnection queue. Proposed large data-center demand enters PJM’s planning process when a Load Serving Entity (LSE) submits an adjustment to the annual Long-Term Load Forecast. PJM reviews those adjustments to estimate future demand and plan the generation and transmission system needed to serve it.
PJM’s generator interconnection queue is different: it is a formal application and study pathway for proposed generating resources. A generator developer submits an interconnection request, PJM evaluates the project’s network impacts through studies, and the project proceeds through agreements and construction if it remains viable. Calling PJM’s load-forecast process a “data center queue” is convenient shorthand, but it should not be mistaken for a queue position, interconnection approval or published project-count list.
Does PJM have a data-center interconnection queue?
No. In a September 29, 2026 article, PJM stated: “PJM does not have a load interconnection queue and relies on Load Serving Entities to submit Large Load adjustments to the Long-Term Load Forecast.” That statement applies to proposed data centers and other large electricity consumers.
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This distinction matters because the two processes answer different questions. The load-forecast process asks how much demand may appear on the system and what infrastructure will be needed. The generator process asks whether a particular generating facility can connect at a proposed point, what network changes are required, and who will pay for them.
How the two PJM processes differ
| Comparison | Large-load planning for a data center | Generator interconnection |
|---|---|---|
| What is being added | Electricity demand, such as a data center’s expected load. | A supply resource, such as a proposed power plant, storage facility or other generating project. |
| Who submits to PJM | The Load Serving Entity submits a proposed large-load adjustment to PJM’s Long-Term Load Forecast. | The generation developer or other interconnection customer submits a formal request through PJM’s interconnection application process. |
| Primary purpose | Forecast system demand and plan generation and transmission capability. | Validate the request and study its effect on the transmission system. |
| Is there a formal queue position? | No PJM load interconnection queue or equivalent queue position exists. | Yes. The project enters PJM’s defined interconnection process and is evaluated through its applicable study stages. |
| What does acceptance mean? | A forecast request is an input to planning; it is not approval to connect or operate. | Entering the process allows studies to proceed; it does not guarantee a final interconnection agreement, construction or commercial operation. |
| Typical output | A revised demand outlook and planning decisions about needed generation and transmission. | Study results, identified upgrades, cost responsibilities and contractual steps toward interconnection. |
| Published count relevant to 2026 | No comparable PJM data-center queue count is available because PJM says it does not maintain such a queue. | PJM reported that 715 generation projects totaling more than 200 GW qualified for the first cycle of its reformed interconnection process on August 3, 2026. |
The 715-project figure belongs only to the generation process. It must not be presented as the number of data centers waiting for PJM interconnection.
How a proposed data center reaches PJM’s planning process
A data-center developer normally works through the LSE that will serve the facility. The LSE is the party that communicates proposed large-load changes to PJM’s forecasting process. The exact filing mechanics and commercial arrangements can vary by utility territory and project, but the planning path has these practical stages.
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- Define the expected demand. The developer and its serving utility develop a view of the facility’s expected electrical load, anticipated timing and growth profile. A campus that ramps in phases may be represented differently from a site expected to reach full demand immediately.
- The LSE submits a large-load adjustment. Rather than filing a data-center interconnection request directly into a PJM load queue, the LSE submits a proposed adjustment to PJM’s Long-Term Load Forecast. This places the expected demand into the regional planning outlook.
- PJM reviews the forecast proposal. PJM examines proposed large-load additions while preparing the annual forecast. For the 2027 forecast, PJM said on September 29, 2026 that its review of proposed adjustments had begun.
- Planning studies account for the demand. PJM uses the forecast to assess how much generation and transmission capability may be needed to serve future demand. The resulting planning work can identify the need for new or upgraded facilities, but it does not itself grant the data center permission to energize.
- Utility and project approvals continue outside a PJM load queue. The LSE, transmission owner, developer and applicable regulators still have to resolve service, construction, permitting, equipment and energization matters. A load appearing in a forecast should therefore be treated as a planning input, not as proof that a project is financed, permitted or physically connected.
Because this is a forecast process, PJM may be evaluating many proposed additions in aggregate rather than publishing one numbered record for each data center. A forecast adjustment also can change as a project’s schedule, design or commercial status changes.
How PJM’s generator interconnection queue works
Generation follows a formal application pathway. PJM identifies generation interconnection among the requests handled through its application portals, and proposed projects undergo interconnection studies.
- Submit an interconnection request. The developer files through PJM’s prescribed application process for the proposed generating resource and point of interconnection. Filing requirements, deposits, milestones and deadlines are governed by PJM’s current process documents and tariff.
- Enter the applicable process stage or cycle. PJM’s reformed process organizes qualifying projects into defined cycles and study stages. A project’s place in that process is an administrative status for study, not a promise that the plant will be built.
- Complete interconnection studies. PJM evaluates the project’s electrical effect on the transmission system, including whether network upgrades or other mitigation are needed. Studies inform the project’s technical requirements and potential costs.
- Negotiate and execute the required agreements. If the project proceeds, the developer and relevant transmission parties address the obligations identified by the studies. The project must still obtain financing, permits, equipment and construction resources.
- Build, test and operate. Only after the contractual, regulatory and construction requirements are satisfied can a facility be energized and enter commercial operation. A queue position or favorable study result is not the same as an operating power plant.
This formal pathway exists because adding generation can change power flows and reliability conditions at a specific network location. PJM needs project-specific technical studies before determining the connection requirements.
Why the “queue” wording causes confusion
A queue normally suggests a visible line in which each applicant has a position and advances through standardized milestones. That model fits generator interconnection better than large-load forecasting. For data centers, PJM’s public description points to LSE-submitted forecast adjustments and annual review rather than a numbered line of load applicants.
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Neither status guarantees completion. Generation projects can be delayed or canceled, while large-load forecasts can be revised when a campus changes scope, timing or business plans.
What Queue Scope can and cannot tell you
PJM’s Queue Scope tool can help a prospective interconnection customer screen possible points of interconnection. It is useful for an early look at available information and potential locations, but PJM describes it as informational. It is not a substitute for formal interconnection studies.
- Use Queue Scope for preliminary screening of potential generation interconnection locations.
- Do not treat a screening result as a technical approval, deliverability finding or binding estimate of upgrade cost.
- Do not use Queue Scope as evidence that PJM has created a separate data-center load queue.
- For a proposed data center, coordinate with the serving LSE and review the applicable transmission and distribution planning process instead of looking for a load queue number.
Where co-located generation and data-center load fits
Some projects propose locating large electricity demand beside generation or arranging a direct operational relationship between them. That situation raises questions about transmission service, tariffs, reliability, metering, deliverability and the treatment of power that may still flow through the PJM system.
Those questions are related to, but distinct from, the existence of a data-center queue. On December 18, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission directed PJM to establish transparent tariff rules for large loads co-located with generation. The action addresses how such arrangements should be governed; it does not show that PJM maintains a standalone load interconnection queue.
A co-location proposal may therefore involve multiple tracks: the generation resource’s formal interconnection process, the LSE’s treatment of expected load in forecasting and any tariff or regulatory requirements for the combined arrangement. One track cannot be used as a substitute for the others.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to interpret PJM’s 2026 numbers
The generation figure
PJM reported on August 3, 2026 that 715 generation projects, totaling more than 200 GW, qualified for the first cycle of its reformed interconnection process. This is a milestone for proposed generation projects. It is not a count of data centers, large-load requests or facilities that are already under construction.
The 2027 load-forecast review
On September 29, 2026, PJM said it had started reviewing proposed large-load adjustments for the 2027 Long-Term Load Forecast. That date identifies the start of an annual review described by PJM; it does not provide a public total for data-center projects and should not be converted into one.
Why there is no matching data-center total
Because PJM says it has no load interconnection queue, there is no equivalent queue-count statistic to place beside the 715-project generation figure. Different processes produce different records, statuses and public metrics.
Common mistakes and the correct interpretation
- Mistake: “PJM’s data-center queue has thousands of projects.” Correction: PJM says it has no load interconnection queue. Large-load proposals are handled through LSE adjustments to the annual forecast.
- Mistake: “A forecast adjustment is an interconnection approval.” Correction: The adjustment informs regional planning. Service, construction and energization still require additional decisions and approvals.
- Mistake: “The 715 projects represent data-center demand.” Correction: The figure refers to generation projects qualifying for the first cycle of PJM’s reformed generation interconnection process.
- Mistake: “Queue Scope replaces a study.” Correction: PJM says Queue Scope is informational and does not replace formal interconnection studies.
- Mistake: “Co-location creates a PJM load queue.” Correction: Co-location has separate tariff and regulatory issues, including the transparent-rule direction issued by FERC in December 2025.
- Mistake: “A project in a queue will definitely operate.” Correction: Queue entry and study progress are not guarantees of financing, permits, construction or commercial operation.
Which process should a project team follow?
| Project question | Process to investigate |
|---|---|
| “We want to build a new data center and need future electric service.” | Start with the prospective serving LSE and its large-load submission and service process. The LSE’s PJM forecast adjustment supports regional planning. |
| “We want to build a power plant or storage project.” | Use PJM’s formal generation interconnection application and study process. |
| “We want to locate generation next to a data center.” | Coordinate the generation interconnection track with the LSE’s load-planning track and review applicable PJM tariff and FERC requirements. |
| “We need an early look at possible generation connection points.” | Queue Scope may provide preliminary information, but formal studies remain necessary. |
| “We need an exact deadline, deposit or milestone.” | Check PJM’s current tariff and process documents because requirements can change. |
What to verify before relying on a PJM status
- Confirm whether the item is a load-forecast adjustment, a generation interconnection request or a co-location arrangement.
- Identify the responsible LSE, transmission owner and applicant; they are not interchangeable roles.
- Record the relevant PJM process year, cycle and document date.
- Separate a planning forecast from a binding service commitment, interconnection agreement or operating authorization.
- Check whether a reported number is a project count, a megawatt total, a study-stage total or an operating-facility count.
- Review the current PJM tariff and process pages before relying on filing requirements, milestones or deadlines, since those details can change.
The practical bottom line for readers
PJM’s so-called data-center queue is not a queue in the generator-interconnection sense. Large data-center demand is brought to PJM by Load Serving Entities through proposed adjustments to the annual Long-Term Load Forecast, where it informs regional generation and transmission planning. Generation developers, by contrast, file formal interconnection requests and undergo project-specific studies.
When evaluating a project announcement, ask first whether it concerns demand, supply or a co-located combination. That classification tells you which PJM process, participant, status and evidence actually apply.
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