American Electric Power Co., considered to be one of the largest utilities in the U.S. and also parent company to Public Service Company of Oklahoma, is threatening to pull out of the Southwest Power Pool grid. And it involves data centers.
It also might do the same with the PJM Interconnection LLC, the largest regional grid in the U.S., reported Financial Post.
AEP made the threats because of the length of time it takes to connect to new AI data centers, according to Chief Executive Officer Bill Fehrman.
“We have to solve the speed to market issue,” he said in a Tuesday earnings call. “This is an area that clearly has to get fixed.”
Fehrman explained AEP, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, has started evaluating membership in the SPP and PJM. His comments came after the company recorded a 9% increase in first quarter 2026 earnings of $874 million.
PJM operates a regional power grid that serves more than 67 million people in 13 eastern states, extending from Illinois to North Carolina. SPP’s grid serves about 20 million people in central US. The SPP grid serves about 20 million people in Oklahoma and the more than 13 other states in the grid. It extends from Texas to North Dakota and in recent months, the SPP offered power to states in the northwest.
Whether Fehrman’s comment at the earnings call was one made out of frustration and merely an idle threat is unclear.