Former Top Grid Official Sounds Alarm Over Trump Data Center Proposal

Mark Christie, formerly a top power grid regulator, is warning that a proposal that’s part of the Trump administration’s push to fast-track artificial intelligence (AI) data center proliferation will have unintended consequences.

Christie, who stepped down as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in August, was originally nominated to the commission by President Donald Trump in July 2020. The former grid official warned that Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s direction to FERC to draft new rules asserting federal control over how data centers connect to the power grid — historically a state responsibility — constitutes a “massive power grab.”

Christie warned that if the federal government takes over load decisions, states could lose control over maintaining grid reliability and deciding who pays for Big Tech’s expansion.

“[The] proposal from U.S. Dept. of Energy is a massive power grab by federal government at the expense of the states. It will only produce litigation, not a more efficient process to interconnect data centers,” Christie argued on LinkedIn on Saturday. “It will pre-empt states from protecting residential and small business consumers from cost shifting, as well as ensuring reliable power generation supply, both of which are ultimately state responsibilities, especially in vertically-integrated and non-RTO [regional transmission organization] states.” (RELATED: Florida Republicans Protest Data Centers Despite Trump Admin Push)

In an aerial view, an Amazon Web Services data center is shown situated near single-family homes on July 17, 2024 in Stone Ridge, Virginia. (Photo by Nathan Howard via Getty Images)

Wright argued within the instructions to FERC that though the Commission has not historically held jurisdiction over load interconnections, connecting “large loads” like data centers to the grid across states and regions should be up to FERC. A Department of Energy notice on the direction argues that the change would position America to “lead in AI innovation” and “significantly reduce study times and grid upgrade costs, while reducing the time needed for additional generation and power to come online.”

The Trump administration has emphasized conquering America’s adversaries in the AI race, and Trump signed an executive order on Dec. 11 to block states from stifling AI innovation on the grounds of national security and economic development. Some conservatives like Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been clashing with the Trump administration over data centers and moving to implement state-level AI protections.

Notably, FERC could decline to comply with Wright’s proposal after considering it and responding by the end of April 2026.

“The Biden Administration launched a war on American energy that constrained power production, drove up costs, and would have ensured the United States lost the AI race,” a DOE spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Thankfully, Americans across the country elected President Trump. The Trump administration is keeping coal, natural gas, and hydropower plants online, rolling back onerous red tape, expediting permitting, and exploring creative new ways to add more reliable power generation as quickly as possible.”

The DOE spokesperson told the DCNF that Wright’s efforts, including the proposed rule to FERC, are aimed at stabilizing the grid.

“Rest assured, the Trump administration is fully committed to unleashing the affordable, reliable, and secure American energy needed to lower electricity costs and win the AI race,” the spokesperson continued.

Trump signed an executive order in April to keep states from impeding energy development, arguing that many climate policies threaten energy supply and national security. The Trump administration has also moved to roll back many stringent Biden-era regulations that Christie and other energy experts argued upon their introduction would harm the U.S. power grid.

Chairman of FERC during the first Trump administration, Neil Chatterjee, told the Wall Street Journal that Wright’s efforts are “the most consequential thing in energy going right now,” arguing that the utility industry has contributed to rising electricity costs through its slow response to growing energy and data center demand.

Like Christie, however, some states are skeptical that the administration’s data center push serves their best interests.

“The same interests pushing federal pre-emption of state AI laws are pushing FERC to pre-empt state authority over data center (large load) interconnection,” Christie wrote in another LinkedIn post. “And I always thought conservatives stood for reducing federal agency power, not massively expanding it at expense of states.”

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