Overview

• At a Philadelphia summit, governors unveiled the PJM Governors’ Collaborative to seek a formal role in PJM decision-making, push governance changes, and speed interconnection.
• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro warned the state could begin the process to leave PJM within months if the operator does not deliver meaningful reforms.
• Capacity payments set by PJM’s recent auctions have jumped about 1,000% over two years as data center demand grows, with utilities reporting rate increases such as 16% at PPL and 19.6% at JCP&L.
• PJM still has roughly 63 gigawatts of mostly clean projects stuck in a transition queue after a 2023 process change, while the region hosts the world’s largest concentration of energy-hungry data centers.
• PJM said meeting today’s challenges requires joint action by the operator, industry, and states; experts note states lack a PJM vote and any Pennsylvania exit would require directing utilities via the legislature or Public Utility Commission.