> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.sotkn.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # PJM files to study SoftBank's 10 GW Ohio data center power plan - URL: https://www.sotkn.com/wire/pjm-softbank-10-gw-ohio-data-center-power-study-wire/ - Published: 2026-10-15T06:03:28.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-15T06:03:28.000Z - Description: PJM filed a study agreement at FERC on 13 October for SoftBank's Flagship project in Ohio: 10,370 MW of data center load, 10,170 MW of new gas generation and three 765 kV lines, with OpenAI as tenant. The stuck step is now PJM's study clock and an Ohio regulator's vote. - Author: Sean - Tags: #desk-wire `WIRE` · `AI DATA CENTERS` · `US` · Data as at 15 Oct 2026 PJM, the grid operator for 13 states and Washington DC, filed a study agreement at FERC on **13 October 2026** to test whether its network can carry SoftBank's **Flagship** project in Pike County, Ohio: **10,370 MW of data center load** and **10,170 MW of new gas generation**, built in phases through **2032**, with **OpenAI** named as the data center tenant. The filing is a study, not an approval. On the [AI data centers layer](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/), the stuck step for the biggest campus on the PJM map is now a grid study clock and an Ohio regulator's vote, not land or tenants. ## What happened 13 October 2026 · FERC docket ER27-126 **PJM asks FERC to accept a Flagship study agreement, effective 25 September** Signed by PJM, AEP Ohio Transmission and three SB Energy companies. Ohio asked for the process in June The load **800 MW first, then 9,570 MW more, all requested as firm service** The first 800 MW runs under AEP Ohio's data center tariff. The rest is what PJM will now study The power **77 gas units, 10,170 MW gross, plus three new 765 kV lines** The study specs model GE Vernova turbines: 12 large 7HA.2 units, 17 6F units and 48 smaller mobile and aeroderivative units Who pays **SB Energy pays for the studies, the grid build and the power plants** A $500,000 study deposit, with no cap on actual study cost. The Energy Department put the transmission bill at $4.2 billion in March --- ## Why cash cares Ten gigawatts is a utility, not a campus. PJM says it dispatches a bit more than 185,000 MW of generation across its whole system. Flagship's planned gas fleet alone would be about **5.5%** of that, built for one site and one tenant. That is why PJM is not running it through the normal interconnection queue. It is studying the load, the plants and the lines together, as one request from the state of Ohio. The study has its own clock, and the filing spells it out. After the data checks, PJM expects to finish its load flow work in about 60 days and its stability work in about 120\. SB Energy then has 30 days to decide whether to go ahead, change the plan or walk away. PJM expects to issue its list of required grid upgrades about 30 days after that. Then the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has **120 days** to sign a state agreement or bind Ohio to the costs. If it does neither and nobody extends the deadline, the agreement ends. Our arithmetic, not a PJM figure. Those steps add up to about **300 days** once the data checks are done, which points to roughly **the third quarter of 2027** before Ohio has to say yes. The 800 MW first phase is only about **8%** of the total load; the other 92% waits on that answer. The $4.2 billion transmission figure works out to about **$405,000 per MW** of planned load, and the $33.3 billion of Japanese funding for 9.2 GW of gas is about **$3.6 million per MW** of generation. ![The Flagship clock: PJM study steps and Ohio's 120-day decision window, with the 10,370 MW load split and GE Vernova turbine mix](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/10/flagship-study-clock-print.png) **Figure: The study comes before the 9,570 MW.** The filing's own step durations, the load split and the modelled turbine mix for SoftBank's Ohio project. ## The second-order read **Who gets paid.** AEP Ohio, which would build the 765 kV lines and substations with SB Energy paying for them. The turbine supply chain next: the study specs model GE Vernova machines across all 77 units. Treat that as a modelling input, not a confirmed order. Compare the [hyperscaler-backed BKV turbine order](https://www.sotkn.com/wire/bkv-hyperscaler-backstop-1200-mw-gas-turbines-data-center-power-wire/). **Who waits.** OpenAI, as the named tenant, for anything beyond the first 800 MW. And every other large load in the AEP zone, since PJM will model Flagship on top of a 2030 grid that is already tight. See [6.8 GW short in PJM](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/us/us-pjm-capacity-shortfall-october-2026/). **Who carries the risk.** SB Energy. Its payment commitments apply whether or not the data centers use the power, and it pays the full study cost whatever the result. That is the same shape as the [minimum-bill tariffs](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/utilities-bill-data-centers-before-power-where-cash-sticks/) utilities now ask of big data center buyers. **Stuck step.** PJM's study and the Ohio commission's vote. Until both clear, the 9,570 MW expansion has no transmission service or interconnection rights. ## Two cautions On paper the generation does not quite cover the load. The modelled plants top out at about **9,909 MW** of output against **10,370 MW** of requested firm load, a gap of about 460 MW (our arithmetic). A data center rarely runs at full nameplate, and the grid can fill the rest, but that gap is one of the things the study will test. FERC accepting the agreement would not approve a single line. PJM says plainly that the studies will not pick projects, set cost allocation or grant service. Cost recovery still has to go through separate Ohio and FERC proceedings. ## What would change the view - PJM's reliability report naming violations and how much of each comes from the load versus the new plants. - The Ohio commission signing a state agreement inside its 120-day window, or letting it lapse. - A firm turbine order or delivery slot for the 7HA.2 units, which carry about 70% of the modelled output. ## What to watch - **FERC's ruling** on docket ER27-126 and whether it grants the 25 September effective date or the fallback of 14 October. - **AEP's third-quarter results** for any change in its Ohio transmission capital plan. - **SB Energy's 30-day election** after the reliability report, the first point it can resize or exit. *Read: [AEP to build $4B, 702 MW of fuel-cell data center power for Google](https://www.sotkn.com/wire/aep-4b-702-mw-fuel-cell-google-data-center-power-wire/), [Data center leases explained](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/data-center-lease-explained/), and [What does Applied Digital do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-applied-digital-do/)* --- **Get the Wire.** A free brief every day, here and in your inbox. **[Subscribe free →](https://www.sotkn.com/#/portal/signup)** Not investment advice. Do your own research. The share of PJM generation, the 300-day path, the per-MW costs, the load split, the turbine shares and the generation gap are our arithmetic from the filing and the Energy Department's figures. ## References 1. [PJM Interconnection, "Study Agreement in Furtherance of the State of Ohio's State Agreement Approach Request," FERC Docket ER27-126-000](https://www.pjm.com/pjmfiles/directory/etariff/FercDockets/9925/20261013-er27-126-000.pdf?ref=sotkn.com), 13 Oct 2026\. Load and generation figures, turbine specs, OpenAI as tenant, study durations, deposit and the 120-day Ohio window. 2. [Utility Dive, "PJM plans to study SoftBank's Ohio AI project under state agreement approach"](https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pjm-softbank-ohio-ai-flagship-state-agreement-approach/832962/?ref=sotkn.com), 14 Oct 2026\. Coverage of the filing and the cost-allocation process. 3. [US Department of Energy, "Energy Department Announces Partnership to Ensure Affordable Energy and Power America's AI Future"](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-ensure-affordable-energy-and-power-americas-ai?ref=sotkn.com), 20 Mar 2026\. The $4.2 billion transmission figure and $33.3 billion for 9.2 GW of gas. 4. [PJM Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee, "Ohio State Agreement Approach Request"](https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/committees-groups/committees/teac/2026/20260908/20260908-item-01---1---ohio-state-agreement-approach-request.pdf?ref=sotkn.com), 8 Sep 2026\. Ohio's 15 June 2026 request and the cost rule for state-sponsored lines.