US States Crack Down on "Phantom" AI Data Center Power Requests

US states such as Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, alongside major utilities, are introducing mandatory financial deposits, strict permitting, and comprehensive audits to eliminate speculative power requests from AI data center developers. After enforcing these stricter requirements, utility providers like Exelon and AEP Ohio saw their projected data center demand queues drop by 40% to over 50%. Unverified power application queues exceeding 700 GW have severely distorted electrical grid planning across the United States. Establishing transparency and financial accountability prevents energy companies from overbuilding infrastructure at the expense of average taxpayers, while reducing the risk of grid failure from unexpected demand. In Texas, data center connection requests surged from 48 GW in 2023 to over 474 GW, leading state regulators to pause new connections and mandate disclosures of ultimate owners, water usage, and tax incentives. Meanwhile, capacity cost increases driven by existing and speculative data center demand in the PJM Interconnection region have already added $29.4 billion to electricity pricing auctions.