Cherry Hill residents could face electricity blackouts as early as 2027 if data center growth outpaces power supply, a new Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) analysis warns.
The study, conducted by Synapse Energy Economics and released Monday, Sept. 14, found that under the most likely scenario, the regional power grid fails to meet reliability standards every year from 2027 through 2030. By 2030, the risk of outages would be nearly six times worse than the standard set by PJM Interconnection, the grid operator covering 13 states including New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In a worst case, the grid could see more than 13 loss-of-load events per year by 2030. The longstanding planning standard allows for one event every 10 years. The PUC cautioned that the projections illustrate the scale of the reliability risk, not a prediction of specific outage counts.
Cherry Hill Township Council unanimously banned large-scale data centers on July 28, citing energy and environmental concerns.
"I've been vocal about our opposing data centers here … Council and I are proud to take proactive steps to ensure that their impacts, including increased energy demands, significant water usage, noise, and air pollution, do not affect our community," Mayor David Fleisher said at that July 28 meeting.
The ban blocks facilities that house only computer servers for AI, cloud computing and similar uses, while still permitting smaller server rooms common in many businesses.
Regional grid under strain
PJM's capacity auctions for both the 2027-28 and 2028-29 delivery years fell short of the regional reliability requirement, according to the PUC's press release. Under the likely scenario, electricity demand will nearly double between 2025 and 2040, almost entirely because of data centers, WHYY reported.
Average outages in the likely scenario would last about 47 minutes and could affect 4.2 million households across PJM's territory, PennLive reported.
That matters here.
PUC Chairman Steve DeFrank said in a statement that data center growth "cannot come at the expense of the families and businesses that already depend on reliable and affordable electric service."
Wholesale power costs across PJM surged 46% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, reaching $116.53 per megawatt-hour, according to PJM's independent market monitor as reported by Utility Dive. Data center load accounted for 9% of that wholesale price.
New Jersey's response
New Jersey has moved on multiple fronts. Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation in July 2026 requiring data centers to pay for electrical and clean energy infrastructure upgrades rather than passing those costs to utility consumers. She signed a second law in late August requiring data centers to report water and energy usage every six months to the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU).
On Aug. 28, Sherrill signed the End Data Center Tax Credits Act, blocking the state from distributing the remaining $250 million earmarked for a data center tax credit program, WHYY reported.
Dozens of municipalities across New Jersey have enacted restrictions on data centers or banned them outright, according to that WHYY report. As of early September, 49 data centers were operating in the state, with 11 more being constructed or planned.
At the federal level, PJM filed an Interim Resource Adequacy Service proposal on Aug. 13 that would let the grid operator redirect power away from new data centers before cutting service to households during supply emergencies.
