AI Power Reality CheckData Center Power Requested, Signed and Running at 52 US Utilities
Utilities report how much power data centers have asked for, how much is under signed contract and how much is actually running. We put every figure from their own filings side by side, so you can see the gap at your utility.
Find Your UtilityUpdated November 2026 with third-quarter 2026 filings. Full dataset available as a CSV download.
How much data center power is actually running? Far less than has been requested, and the gap is different at every utility.
Dominion Energy Virginia, which serves Northern Virginia, the largest data center market in the world, reports 54.9 GW of data center capacity in contracting stages, 12.2 GW under signed electric service agreements and a data center billing peak of 4.8 GW. On the Texas grid, ERCOT's last count was about 474 GW of large loads seeking to connect (Q2 2026), about 90% of them data centers, while the approved large loads it observes running peaked at about 4.1 GW in September 2026. The AI Power Reality Check lines up those three numbers (requested, signed and running) for 52 US utilities and 6 grid operators, each in the utility's own words and linked to the filing it came from. Metro Colo Advisory compiles it as part of our data center consulting work, where the first question on any site or build to suit data center is whether its power is real. It is one of the datasets published by Metro Colo Advisory Research.
The Scoreboard: Requested, Signed and Running
Pick a state on the map or a utility from the list. Press play to watch the last year of filings, or open any utility for its trend, its own definitions and the exact words from its filing.
Bars compare each utility's own figures, so you can see its gap. A utility with only one figure is drawn against the largest figure on the board. Share signed is shown only where the utility says its pipeline includes its signed load. Utilities define these numbers differently; open a utility to see its terms.
Also checked, with no published requested or signed totals this quarter: We Energies.
What Changed Since Q3 2025
The biggest moves in each utility's own figures between its first and latest quarter on record here, where the utility kept the same measure. Open a card to see that utility.
Next Numbers Due
When new figures land, we update the scoreboard. Each utility's row shows the quarter its latest numbers come from.
Texas: The Longest Line in the Country
ERCOT, which runs most of the Texas grid, reports how much large load is waiting to connect and how much approved large load is actually running. Its old count of large loads seeking interconnection ended when that process closed on July 10, 2026, at about 474 GW as of June, about 90% data centers. In September, its new Batch Zero study classified 204 projects (66.4 GW) as base load and 158 projects as studied load, and excluded 373 projects totaling 302.2 GW. ERCOT files its Batch Zero eligibility verification report with regulators by December 10, 2026.
Source: ERCOT large-load interconnection status reports and monthly operational overviews. Requested is large load seeking interconnection under ERCOT's old process, which ended July 10, 2026; running is ERCOT's observed monthly peak for loads approved to energize. Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas and CPS Energy requests are part of the ERCOT total.
What Other Grid Operators and States Report
Grid operators and states count large loads across many utilities at once, so their figures overlap the utility rows above. Each one is shown on its own terms and never added to a utility.
Large load additions supported by MISO's transmission plan, approved plus proposed. Not a request line. Overlaps Entergy, Ameren, Alliant, DTE, Consumers and Xcel.
Latest figures: Q3 2026. Source
High-impact large-load requests in Missouri. Signed is transmission service agreements, not retail contracts. Overlaps Evergy.
Latest figures: Q3 2026. Source
What utilities in the CAISO area reported to the state: active applications, signed agreements, and about 300 data centers drawing about 1 GW. Includes PG&E, so do not add the two.
Latest figures: Q4 2025. Source
Data center load included in CAISO's current transmission plan studies. Not a request line. Overlaps the California utilities row.
Latest figures: Q1 2026. Source
Large loads of all types in New York's interconnection queue. Running is about 500 MW that entered service over the past decade, mostly crypto mining.
Latest figures: Q1 2026, Q3 2026. Source
ISO-NE's March 2026 forecast lists one data center project, 200 MW. All large loads in formal study totaled under 300 MW in July 2026.
Latest figures: Q1 2026. Source
PJM, the largest grid in the country, publishes data center requests zone by zone but no grid-wide total, so its utilities appear on the scoreboard individually.
How Big Is a Gigawatt?
Slide to any amount of power, or tap a utility figure, to see it in homes.
One gigawatt running around the clock covers the average use of about 812,000 homes (EIA 2022 average of 10,791 kWh per home per year).
Is the power at your site real?
A utility pipeline is not a contract, and a contract is not a connection. We review what a utility has actually committed to a site before owners, developers and investors spend money on it. We reply within 24 hours.
Named Data Center Power Deals Before Regulators
Contracts, tariffs and power plant approvals tied to named data center customers, with the docket where it is public. Each entry links the best public record we found: a regulatory filing where one is posted, otherwise a utility release or news report. For the rates these customers pay and the household bill impacts, see our data center electric rates tracker.
Why the Three Numbers Are So Far Apart
Requests are cheap
Developers often ask several utilities to serve the same project, and an early request costs little to file. Queues count every request, including ones that will never be built.
Contracts come with a price
Signed agreements usually require deposits, minimum bills or collateral. That is why signed figures are a better test of serious demand, and why they grow more slowly. It is also why a powered shell backed by a signed utility agreement is worth more than one backed by a promise.
Running takes years
New substations, transmission lines and power plants have to be built before large loads connect. Most signed load is scheduled to come online between 2027 and the early 2030s. That wait is why wholesale colocation with energized capacity is scarce, and why build-to-suit projects are scheduled around the energization date.
Definitions differ
A pipeline at one utility can mean projects with signed engineering letters; at another it means inquiries. Some figures include factories. Each row keeps the utility's own term. For a company placing AI and GPU colocation now, the number that matters is running capacity, not the pipeline.
How This Tracker Was Built
Utility figures from primary sources
Every utility and grid operator figure comes from the utility's own earnings slides, call transcripts, SEC filings or investor materials, a grid operator report, or a state regulatory filing. News coverage was used only to find those documents. Deal entries link the best public record, which for a few is a news report.
The utility's own words
Each figure keeps the label the utility uses, the page or slide it appears on and the date the figure refers to. We do not convert pipelines into forecasts or add up figures that use different definitions.
Checked before publishing
184 quarterly rows, holding 267 figures, were checked against their source documents. Figures that could not be traced to a primary document were left out.
Updated every quarter
New figures are added after each earnings season and when grid operators or regulators publish. Corrections are welcome through our contact page; send the document and page number.
Download the Data
The full tracker is free to download and reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Every utility figure carries its source link, page or slide, and the exact wording from the filing, and every deal links to its public record.
The full dataset, with a README and data dictionary, is also archived on Zenodo with a permanent DOI.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the AI Power Reality Check?
It is a free tracker from Metro Colo Advisory that lines up three numbers for 52 US utilities and 6 grid operators: how much data center or large-load power has been requested, how much is under signed agreements, and how much is running. Every utility and grid figure comes from the utility's own earnings materials, SEC filings, grid operator reports or regulatory filings, and links to that source.
What is the difference between requested, signed and running power?
Requested power is what data center developers have asked a utility to serve, often called a pipeline or queue. Signed power is load covered by an agreement, such as an electric service agreement or a construction letter. Running power is load already connected and drawing electricity. Many requests never become contracts, and contracts take years to energize, so the three numbers are usually far apart.
Why is there no national total?
Utilities define their numbers differently. Some pipelines count only projects with signed engineering letters, others count early inquiries, and some include factories as well as data centers. Texas utilities also overlap with ERCOT's statewide queue. Adding them up would mix unlike figures, so the tracker shows each utility on its own terms.
Which utilities report how much data center load is running?
Few do. In this tracker, 13 of the 52 utilities publish a running figure, and some of those include other large loads; each row says which. The rest report pipelines and signed agreements, or growth in sales. ERCOT publishes observed large-load demand for the Texas grid every month, and the California Energy Commission reports how much data center load is running in the CAISO area.
How often is the tracker updated?
Every quarter, after utilities report earnings, and when a grid operator or state regulator publishes a new figure. Each row shows the date of the figure, not just the date of the filing.
Can I use this data?
Yes. The data is free to use, including in news coverage and research, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, with credit to Metro Colo Advisory and a link to this page.