To address time to power, one of the biggest constraints currently slowing data center deployment, EPRI is launching Flex MOSAIC, a uniform flexibility classification framework for large electric loads, developed through its DCFlex initiative in collaboration with more than 65 utilities, system operators, regulators, hyperscalers and technology providers.
The voluntary framework is meant to establish a “shared, credible way” to define flexibility from large loads (particularly data centers) based on the magnitude, timing, duration and frequency of their response. By enabling a common understanding of what flexibility a load can deliver, EPRI argues the framework could help shorten interconnection timelines, improve grid planning confidence and accelerate access to power without compromising reliability or affordability.
“As demand from AI and data centers grows at unprecedented speed, flexibility is becoming the third leg of the speed-to-power stool, alongside generation and transmission,” said EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor. “This framework allows everyone — utilities, regulators, and large‑load developers — to have common language about flexibility and to trust what that language means. That shared understanding is essential to moving faster while maintaining reliability.”
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The framework defines flexibility through practical performance characteristics, including how quickly a load can respond, how long adjustments can last and how much power can be reduced or shifted. These characteristics are organized into a set of uniform flexibility classes that utilities, system operators and data centers can apply consistently across regions.
The framework is meant to provide a technical foundation that jurisdictions and market participants can adapt to their local needs. “As large, flexible loads play a growing role in the power system, having clear, technically grounded definitions of flexibility is critical for reliability,” said North American Electric Reliability Corporation President Jim Robb. “A common framework like this can help system operators and planners speak the same language, essential for maintaining a reliable grid.”
“As demand from data centers accelerates, state regulators are focused on ensuring customers are not burdened by the costs of serving new, large loads, as well as maintaining grid reliability,” said NARUC President Ann Rendahl. “NARUC looks forward to engaging with EPRI and others on how a voluntary, standardized framework like Flex MOSAIC can create a common language and shared understanding of flexibility, and provide benefits to state regulators when evaluating data center integration, without shifting costs to customers or compromising grid reliability.”
Initial framework participants include Alliant Energy, Arizona Public Service, California ISO, El Centro Nacional de Control de Energía (CENACE), Compass Datacenters, Constellation Energy, DTE Energy, Entergy, Exelon, Georgia Transmission Corporation, Google, Honeywell, Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), ING, Jenbacher, Korea Power Exchange (KPX), KPMG, LG Pado, Lincoln Electric System, Lower Colorado River Authority, Meta, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), Nebraska Public Power District, NERC, NVIDIA, Portland General Electric, PSEG, Rayburn Electric, Salt River Project, Siemens, Southern Company, Southwest Power Pool and United Power.
Originally published in Factor This Power Engineering.
Facts Only
EPRI is launching Flex MOSAIC, a framework for large electric loads' flexibility classification
Collaboration with more than 65 utilities, system operators, regulators, hyperscalers, and technology providers
Framework based on load response magnitude, timing, duration, and frequency
Defines flexibility through practical performance characteristics
Organizes characteristics into uniform flexibility classes for consistent regional application
Jurisdictions and market participants can adapt framework to local needs
Executive Summary
Full Take
As the demand for AI and data centers grows rapidly across the United States, this new framework from EPRI aims to address the significant constraint of time to power in data center deployment. By fostering a shared understanding of flexibility among utilities, regulators, and large-load developers, the hope is that it will lead to faster interconnection timelines, improved grid planning confidence, and accelerated access to power without compromising reliability or affordability. However, it remains to be seen how widely this voluntary framework will be adopted and whether it will truly lead to these desired outcomes.
Questions for further inquiry: How might different stakeholders—from hyperscalers to utilities to regulators—approach the implementation of this new flexibility classification framework? What potential challenges or unintended consequences could arise from a standardized approach to defining and quantifying flexibility across various regions and contexts?
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