Behind-the-meter power

Behind-the-meter (BTM) power is electricity generated at or adjacent to the consumption site, on the customer's side of the utility meter. It flows to the data center without passing through the public grid. Examples include on-site gas turbines, fuel cells, solar-plus-storage, and data centers co-located directly with power plants, such as campuses built at nuclear or gas generation sites. BTM arrangements avoid multi-year grid interconnection queues (now 3-7 years in constrained markets), transmission charges, and grid congestion, making them increasingly attractive for AI campuses needing hundreds of megawatts quickly. The approach faces regulatory friction: co-location deals at regulated plants have drawn challenges over grid-cost allocation, as in the 2024-25 FERC disputes over the Talen-Amazon nuclear arrangement. BTM generation paired with grid backup is a growing hybrid model.