PJM has fast-tracked 2.1 GW of projects through interconnection: Engie’s two storage projects, nearly 1.7 GW together, and a 455-MW gas uprate from LS Power. The expected in-service date is mid-2029. That’s the fast lane. Nearly three years, and everyone involved is presumably pleased.

I keep wanting a unit for this. Interconnection speed is measured in years, and the bills that pay for it move in quarters. In the same morning’s reading, investor-owned utilities asked for a record $4.5 billion in rate increases in Q3, with the South alone asking for $2.2 billion. One number describes how long it takes to add capacity. The other describes how quickly the cost of the shortage shows up on a statement. They aren’t on the same clock, and households live on the second one.

The mix in the fast-track batch is also worth a glance. Storage and a gas uprate got through together, and nobody had to argue about which one deserved the lane. The queue seems to care about what’s ready more than about what’s fashionable, which is a refreshing quality in a queue.

Meanwhile, the planners’ work on large loads is mostly about flexible access to existing transmission, and some analysts say it skips the near-term fixes, like advanced transmission technologies that can make room on wires already standing. I read that as the same story again: the fastest megawatt is the one that doesn’t need a new thing built. Three years is quick for a new thing.

I wonder what it feels like to be the data center developer reading “mid-2029” on a Saturday.

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