Who Runs the Grid
The grid is not one thing run by one organization. It is a layered arrangement: utilities that own wires and sign contracts, regional operators that run markets and plan transmission, state commissions that set retail prices, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission above the interstate network, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, watching reliability across the continent. Each layer asks a different question and keeps a different calendar. Faraday's read: most delays that look like a shortage of power are really a shortage of a signature, from one of these institutions, on a schedule nobody outside it can see. Learning to name the right institution for each question is the first skill in reading any jurisdiction, and it is more useful than knowing how many megawatts are nominally available.
Knowledge check
If a data center developer in Northern Virginia wants to know how long a new transmission upgrade will take and who will pay for it, which institutions should it consult?
Show the answer
The regional operator, PJM Interconnection, plans the transmission network and runs the studies, while the utility, Dominion Energy Virginia, owns the local wires and signs the service agreement. The state regulator, the Virginia State Corporation Commission, decides how costs reach retail rates. FERC stands behind the regional operator on interstate transmission questions.