Susquehanna Nuclear files petition to review FERC order

Susquehanna Nuclear LLC, the owner and operator of the 2.5GW Susquehanna steam electric station, has filed a petition in the Fifth Circuit court seeking a review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) order rejecting an expanded interconnection service agreement (ISA) at the power plant.

The proposal aimed to revise an ISA involving PJM, the regional grid operator Susquehanna Nuclear, which owns the power plant, and transmission owner PPL Corp. The amendment would have boosted the data center shared power demand from 300MW to 480MW.

FERC initially accepted a PJM-filed ISA in 2015, which was amended in February 2023 to add 150MW of colocated load. However, following AWS' acquisition of the 960MW Cumulus data center from Talen Energy, FERC rejected a further amendment submitted in June and updated in September to increase the load capacity.

In rejecting the amended proposal, FERC stated that PJM had not provided sufficient justification for the nonstandard provisions that would allow a “unique” arrangement for the data center. In response, Talen Energy requested that FERC rehear the proposed ISA. The company stated: "With only a few cursory paragraphs of flawed analysis, the (FERC) erroneously rejected a privately negotiated agreement that was supported by all signatories and, in so doing, damaged US economic and national security interests."