Exelon reports 40% drop in data center load as off‑grid gas power demand soars

Exelon Corp. said its "high‑probability" data‑center load fell nearly 40%, to about 11 GW in the second quarter, down from 18 GW at the end of last year. CFO Jeanne Jones explained the decline reflects the utility’s effort to weed out speculative projects and focus on transmission security agreements that protect ratepayers.

Energy‑research firm Enverus projects that about 40% of all new data‑center capacity added through 2030 will be off‑grid, natural‑gas‑fired power. The firm forecasts 62 GW of such capacity, primarily in Texas, the PJM market (Pennsylvania and Ohio) and the western United States, driven by grid bottlenecks and the need for rapid deployment. Major hyperscalers such as Amazon and Google are building behind‑the‑meter gas plants, a shift that could challenge corporate climate goals.