What is behind-the-meter power?

What “behind the meter” means

The meter is where a customer’s side of the electric system meets the utility’s. Power bought from the utility crosses it; power made on the customer’s side does not. For data centers, CRS describes behind-the-meter generation as a third option for developers: self-supply by buying or building power plants whose output goes directly to the data center rather than over the utility’s grid[3]. Those plants can share the data center’s site or stand on land next to it[3].

It is not the usual route. CRS says most developers prefer to buy power from the local utility and look for sites where supply is readily available[3]. Behind-the-meter supply is what they turn to when it is not.

Why data centers go behind the meter

Time is the main reason. CRS reports that many developers want electricity in whatever way is fastest[3]. A grid connection can be slow: new power plants wait in an interconnection queue for their studies[3], and loads of more than 20 megawatts are the subject of a federal rulemaking on how they connect to the transmission system[2]. Utilities are adding their own conditions for very large customers through large load tariffs[4]; Pennsylvania’s model rules, for example, cover customers above 50 MW, or 100 MW in aggregate[5], and AEP Ohio requires new data centers to pay for at least 85% of the energy they subscribe to[6]. In some places the grid itself is strained: Loudoun County says Northern Virginia’s has been, largely because of data center growth[7].

The trade-offs

Air quality. At the campuses the Census tracks, on-site plants are mostly gas-fired (see the list below). EPA says stationary combustion turbines and engines, common primary and backup power sources for data centers, must meet federal air standards[8]; gas turbines mainly emit nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide[9]. The most contested example is xAI’s campus in Memphis, where the NAACP and another group appealed the air permit for 15 turbines[10], alleging that up to 35 had operated on site, able to produce more than 420 megawatts, before permits were sought[10]. The county’s air board dismissed the appeal as moot in December 2025[11].

Climate. The IEA expects natural gas to be the largest source of the additional electricity U.S. data centers use through 2030[12].

The grid. A data center with its own plant may still lean on the grid, which raises the question of who pays for that service. FERC’s December 2025 order directed PJM to set transparent rules for serving AI data centers and other big customers that sit next to power plants[1]; in April 2026 FERC accepted part of PJM’s first compliance filing, rejected part, and asked for more[13].

The rules being written

• Federal: FERC’s co-location order for PJM (December 18, 2025)[1] and its April 16, 2026 ruling on PJM’s compliance filing[13], alongside a separate FERC proceeding on how loads above 20 MW connect to the transmission system[2].
• States: CRS says some states have proposed requiring data centers to join demand response programs or agree to be cut off first in a shortage, and that Texas legislated both in 2025[3]. Data centers can already be flexible, pausing or slowing computing or switching to backup power at peak hours[3].
• Utilities: Large load tariffs set the terms of service for customers above a certain size[4].

Tracked projects with on-site generation

25 tracked projects record power generation of their own beyond emergency backup, 20 of them gas turbines, engines or other gas-fired units. Some are permanent power plants; others are temporary units meant to run until a grid connection is ready. The wording below is the record’s own; open a project for the source.

Listed from each record’s on-site generation entry or, where there is none, a power-supply entry describing a plant of the project’s own. Others may plan one without a public source yet. The power tracker covers utility deals as well.

Common questions

What does behind the meter mean?

Electricity produced on the customer’s side of the utility meter and delivered straight to the user without crossing the utility’s grid. For data centers, the Congressional Research Service describes behind-the-meter generation as power plants a developer buys or builds to supply the data center directly.

Why do data centers use behind-the-meter power?

Mostly for speed. The Congressional Research Service says many developers reportedly want power in whatever way is fastest, and a grid connection can mean waiting in an interconnection queue for studies to finish.

Is behind-the-meter power the same as co-location?

They overlap. FERC uses co-location for data centers and other large loads that sit alongside generating facilities, and ordered PJM in December 2025 to set clear rules for them. CRS says behind-the-meter plants may be on the data center’s site or next to it.

Is behind-the-meter power clean?

It depends on the plant. Most on-site plants at the AI campuses the Census tracks burn natural gas, which must meet federal air standards for stationary turbines and engines, and the IEA expects gas to be the largest source of additional U.S. data center electricity through 2030.

Sources

1. FACT SHEET | FERC Directs Nation’s Largest Grid Operator to Create New Rules to Embrace Innovation and Protect Consumers
   Federal Energy Regulatory Commission · 2025-12-18
   Source excerpt

   “Today, FERC directed grid operator PJM to establish transparent rules to facilitate service of AI-driven data centers and other large loads co-located with generating facilities.”

2. Interconnection of Large Loads to the Interstate Transmission System (Docket No. RM26-4-000)
   Federal Energy Regulatory Commission · 2026
   Source excerpt

   “The ANOPR seeks public input on potential reforms related to how large loads — generally defined as electricity demand greater than 20 megawatts (MW) – interconnect to the transmission system.”

3. Data Centers and the Electricity Grid: Frequently Asked Questions (R49326)
   Congressional Research Service (via EveryCRSReport.com) · 2026-09-01
   7 source excerpts

   “Some states have proposed requiring data centers to participate in electricity demand response programs or agree to be disconnected first in case of a shortage of electricity supplies. Texas, for example, legislated both requirements in 2025.”

   “A third option for data center developers is to self-supply electricity by buying or building behind-the-meter power plants, also referred to as behind-the-meter generation. In this case, the electricity generated by the power plant is delivered directly to the data center without using the utility's electric grid.”

   “Such power plants may be colocated with the data center on the same site, or they may be offsite adjacent to the data center.”

   “Reportedly, many data center developers prefer to secure their electricity supplies in whatever way is fastest.”

   “Power plant developers requesting to interconnect to the grid are placed in an interconnection queue to wait their turn for an interconnection study to be completed.”

   “Buying electricity from the local utility is the preferred option for most data center developers and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future. Data center owners who prefer this option typically choose to locate their facilities in areas with more readily available existing utility electricity supply.”

   “Some data centers have the technical potential to decrease their demand during peak demand hours, either by pausing or slowing computational tasks or by switching to backup power supplies. This behavior is known as flexibility”

4. A New Regulatory Approach to Rising Electricity Demand: "Large Load Tariffs"
   State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, NYU School of Law · 2026-04-09
   Source excerpt

   “A large load tariff is a set of rules for electric service between customers over a certain size and the electric utility company that will serve them.”

5. PUC Acts to Protect Ratepayers, Guide Data Center Growth with New Large Load Tariff Framework
   Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission · 2026-04-30
   Source excerpt

   “Tariff provisions will apply to customers over 50 MW individually or 100 MW in the aggregate.”

6. AEP Ohio Proposal on Data Centers to Protect Ohio Consumers Adopted by PUCO
   AEP (utility press release) · 2025-07-09
   Source excerpt

   “large new data center customers to pay for a minimum of 85% of the energy they are subscribed to use – even if they actually use less – to cover the costs of infrastructure needed to bring electricity to those facilities.”

7. Data Centers: Energy Issues & Considerations
   Loudoun County, Virginia · 2026
   Source excerpt

   “In northern Virginia, the regional power grid has become strained in large part due to increased electrical demand from data centers over the past 20 plus years.”

8. Clean Air Act Resources for Data Centers
   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 2026-09-14
   Source excerpt

   “Stationary combustion turbines and stationary engines – common sources of primary and backup power for data centers – are subject to various new source performance standards (NSPS) for certain air emissions and national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP).”

9. AP-42 Section 3.1: Stationary Gas Turbines
   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 2000-04
   Source excerpt

   “The primary pollutants from gas turbine engines are nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), and to a lesser extent, volatile organic compounds (VOC).”

10. NAACP, others appeal xAI turbine permits for Memphis data center
    Tennessee Lookout · 2025-07-17
    2 source excerpts

    “The NAACP and another group are challenging the Shelby County Health Department's decision to grant xAI an air permit for 15 gas turbines at its South Memphis data center, according to an appeal filed Wednesday.”

    “The groups allege that the campus had up to 35 gas turbines on site capable of generating more than 420 megawatts of electricity before it sought permits.”

11. Shelby Co. Air Pollution Control Board denies appeal over xAI’s turbine use, citing ‘mootness’
    Action News 5 (WMC) · 2025-12-15
    Source excerpt

    “They doubled down on those concerns in front of the Memphis and Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board, which dismissed the appeal on the grounds of "mootness." The decision came down after a seven-hour meeting.”

12. Energy and AI – Energy supply for AI
    International Energy Agency (IEA) · 2025-04
    Source excerpt

    “Natural gas is the largest source of additional supply, adding over 130 TWh of annual generation until 2030. Renewables are the second-largest source of additional electricity supply, adding 110 TWh to the data centre electricity supply between 2024 and 2030.”

13. FERC Orders Further Compliance Filing in PJM Co-Location Proceedings
    Troutman Pepper Locke (Washington Energy Report) · 2026-04-16
    Source excerpt

    “On April 16, 2026, FERC accepted in part and rejected in part PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.'s (PJM) compliance filing proposing changes to PJM's Open Access Transmission Tariff (Tariff).”

Each source was opened and checked against the excerpt shown. Company statements are identified as such. Figures are as published; where sources differ, each is shown.