PJM will curtail data centers 50MW+ starting June 2027

In April, our grid-crisis analysis argued that PJM’s 6,625 MW capacity shortfall made summer 2027 the first season the largest US grid could not reliably meet demand, and that power — not compute — was becoming the binding constraint on AI buildout. That call just hardened: after another auction to add generating capacity fell short, PJM says it will cut off data centers of 50 megawatts or larger during power shortages starting June 2027, with curtailed customers compensated under a demand-response scheme and notice windows running from 30 minutes to a few days. The verdict holds and strengthens — the grid operator serving 67 million customers has moved from price signals to physical rationing, exactly the escalation the post predicted. For operators, a compute contract in PJM territory now carries interruption risk that belongs in your SLA math, and on-site generation just went from hedge to line item.