WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright this week directed federal energy regulators to consider a rule aimed at speeding up the connection of power-hungry data centers to electric grids. Wright sent the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a rule on Thursday that allows customers to file joint, co-located load and generation interconnection requests. The energy department said the rule would reduce study times and costs for improving the grid, while reducing the time needed for additional power to come online. The rule also pushes FERC to mull whether reviews for grid projects, which sometimes take years, can be done in 60 days. As U.S. power demand spikes for the first time in two decades on artificial intelligence, President Donald Trump's administration is trying to boost power capacity, mainly from fossil fuel and nuclear plants, and grid access for the data center industry. Energy secretaries can direct FERC, an independent panel of the Energy Department set to have a 3-2 Republican majority, to consider rules, but cannot force it to adopt them. Edison Electric Institute, which represents publicly-traded electric utilities, said it supported Wright's effort, saying it would strengthen the grid and drive down costs for customers. An environmentalist slammed the move. "Pushing FERC to rubber-stamp connections in just 60 days while the government's shut down and Trump builds a $300 million White House ballroom shows (how) out of touch his administration is from everyday Americans," said Camden Weber of environmental group Center for Biological Diversity. Wright also urged FERC to consider a rule to remove burdens for preliminary hydroelectric permits. Malcolm Woolf, president and CEO of the National Hydropower Association, praised Wright's move. "It is incumbent upon FERC, the Trump Administration, and Congress to ensure that third parties, such as Federal resource agencies, do not unduly inhibit hydropower development and instead foster its necessary growth to meet current challenges." (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; additional reporting by Laila Kearney and Nichola Groom; editing by Diane Craft)
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