COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohioans may soon feel the strain of a grid that’s adding massive new data centers faster than it can build the power to run them.

The just completed PJM capacity auction — the tool used to line up enough electricity for future years — will show whether the region can meet projected demand for 2027–28 without coming up short.

Results of the auction will be known later this month. And the stakes are high for consumers.

If PJM can’t secure enough power, the cost and reliability of electricity could shift for millions of customers.

“There are reliability stakes but also major affordability stakes,” said Clara Summers, a campaign manager with Consumers for a Better Grid.

The Reliable Grid Project predicts 60 gigawatts of new large-load growth by 2030, much of it from data

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