Overview
- Maryland Sen. Katie Fry Hester launched a PJM State Legislators Collaborative that drew participants from across the 13‑state region to push for safeguards on household bills.
- PJM’s board plans to finalize a Critical Issue Fast Path proposal on Nov. 19 for a subsequent filing at FERC to address roughly 32 gigawatts of forecast new demand by 2030, mostly from data centers.
- Independent market monitor Joseph Bowring asked FERC to reject a Sept. 23 transmission service agreement between Peco and Amazon for a massive Bucks County data center, citing unresolved capacity and reliability cost risks.
- Consumer advocates warn of steep potential rate impacts, including NRDC’s estimate of up to $163 billion through 2033, as Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel questions PJM’s growth assumptions and urges stronger protections.
- PJM said the fast‑track process is not about passing costs to ratepayers, noting retail rate decisions rest with states, while Amazon pursues two Pennsylvania data center complexes totaling about $20 billion, including a Luzerne County project that previously saw a 480‑megawatt connection rejected by FERC.