FERC Chose the Regions
On June 18, the federal energy regulator decided how to handle the data-center grid problem. The decision it made, and the one it avoided, tells you something about how American governance actually works under pressure.
Data-Centers
9 postsThe Meter Goes Live
The Inference, Issue 17: HB 2992, Oklahoma's data-center cost-attribution law, goes operative July 1, and on June 16 voters chose the commissioner favored to apply it to the first live load.
The Energy Bill
The Inference: Issue 16: Anthropic disclosed that AI now writes more than 80% of its code the same week Oklahoma's data-center power bill came due before the Corporation Commission.
Who Decides What the Water Is Worth
Oklahoma just became one of the first states to make data centers measure the groundwater they drink. The fight over it was really a fight about who gets to decide what a shared resource is worth.
Water on the Meter
The Inference: Issue 15: Oklahoma becomes the first state to tie a groundwater permit to data-center cooling architecture.
The Sovereignty Question
The Inference: Issue 14: Tribal nations and Oklahoma cities draw their own lines on data centers. Four moratoria in three months. The Pope weighs in. The Energy Secretary disagrees.
The Tariff Is the Test
The Inference: Issue 13: HB 2992 is signed. The Corporation Commission approves data center tariffs. The OCC primary decides who sits in that chair.
Seventy-Two Hours
AI policy intelligence brief. Issue 10: In eight days, GPT-5.5, DeepSeek V4, trade wars, Musk in court, and OG&E data center deals. Oklahoma has six days left.
The Ground Is Moving
AI policy intelligence brief. Issue 8: Maine passes first data center moratorium, AI governance acceleration, Oklahoma energy policy.