Governors urge grid operator to take action amid record-high power plant prices
Governors of Delaware, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey ramp up pressure on PJM following complaint from environmental groups
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Five Democratic governors are calling on the nation's largest grid operator, PJM Interconnection, to change the process it uses to determine the price paid to power plants after record-high prices were awarded in its last auction.
In a joint letter to PJM last week, Govs. John Carney of Delaware, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Wes Moore of Maryland and Phil Murphy of New Jersey urged the grid operator to take urgent action after its most recent capacity auction in July for 2025 and 2026 saw prices that were 833% higher than the previous year, citing dwindling supply and increased demand.
The governors said the capacity auction results will cost homes and businesses in the 13 states and the District of Columbia that are served by PJM $14.7 billion.
"Urgent action is needed to prevent customers from paying billions more than is necessary," the group said.
Delaware Gov. John C Carney Jr. speaks at the Delaware Memorial Day Ceremony, in New Castle, Delaware, on May 30, 2019. | Getty Images
Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker attends the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown in New York City on Sept. 24. Pritzker joined four other Democratic governors in calling on PJM to make several changes after the grid o (John Nacion/Getty Images)
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The governors asked PJM to increase the number of power plants in its auction to increase available supply calculations used to determine prices, encourage more renewable power generation and lower the capacity price cap, among other requests.
Democratic governors from five states are putting pressure on PJM to make changes after the grid operator's last capacity auction resulted in record-high prices paid to power plants.
The prices raised concerns about swelling power bills for everyday homes and businesses in the grid operator's territory, and led environmental groups — including the Sierra Club, Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council — to file a complaint against PJM's process to determine its prices.
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PJM has asked regulators to delay its 2026/27 auction by about six months to address the complaint against it. The group of governors said they supported the delay.
The grid operator said it had continuously warned that government policy measures aimed at shifting away from fossil-fired power generation, before adding new clean electricity generation, could result in a supply crunch.
Grid operator PJM says it has repeatedly warned that moving away from fossil fuel power generation before building up more clean energy sources would lead to supply shortages. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"Our state leaders are critical voices and we appreciate their input as we work to balance the need for an investment signal for new generation with the need to keep prices affordable for consumers," PJM spokesman Jeff Shields said in an email to Reuters. "Our states also play a critical role in the policy choices they make that directly impact supply and demand on our system," he added.
Reuters contributed to this report.