A coalition of 84 environmental, consumer, faith, and clean energy organizations across the PJM Interconnection (PJM) region sent a letter earlier this week to the Board of Managers demanding urgent reforms to address affordability and resource adequacy. The letter comes in response to yet another record-breaking capacity auction that will drive electricity prices even higher for families and businesses across the Mid-Atlantic.
In the letter, the coalition, which includes Evergreen Action, urges PJM’s incoming leadership to take immediate action to fix the broken systems that are driving up costs, delaying clean energy, and undermining long-term grid reliability. The demand comes just days after PJM announced the results of its latest auction, which set a staggering clearing price of $329.17 per megawatt-day—a 22 percent increase over last year’s already historic prices.
The coalition outlines four urgent priorities PJM must address to prevent continued price spikes, support clean energy deployment, and deliver affordable, reliable electricity to the 65 million people PJM serves:
- Accelerate interconnection reform to clear the massive backlog of cost-effective clean energy projects and end years-long delays that are contributing to high prices and stalled development.
- Implement robust regional and interregional transmission planning to meet surging energy demand, lower costs, and ensure clean energy can be delivered where and when it’s needed most.
- Modernize the capacity market to properly recognize the value of renewable energy resources, remove barriers to participation, and inject real competition that benefits consumers—not incumbent fossil fuel generators and utility companies.
- Manage the rapid growth of large new loads, like data centers, with clear forecasting requirements, queue standards, and safeguards to prevent speculative projects from shifting costs onto ratepayers.
Read the full letter here.
“This week’s capacity auction results—with yet another round of unacceptably high prices—make it clear that the current approach is failing to meet today’s needs and the challenges ahead,” the coalition writes. “We are in a time of unprecedented change and opportunity in the energy sector. By continuing to modernize interconnection, planning, and market rules, PJM can support the reliable and efficient integration of new technologies and help ensure that our customers’ needs are met today and in the years to come.”