ELECTRICITY BILLS ARE GOING UP –
WE NEED TO PUT A STOP TO IT.
PJM Interconnection, the company that manages the electrical grid serving Pennsylvania and several other states in the region, has failed to protect us from higher electricity bills. PJM’s decisions and actions are already increasing family electricity bills by as much as $25 per month, starting this June. More increases are coming if things at PJM don’t change.
What is PJM Interconnection?
PJM is an obscure but powerful company that runs the electrical grid for 65 million people in Pennsylvania and all or part of a dozen other states stretching from New Jersey all the way to Illinois. PJM coordinates the flow of electricity from energy generators like power plants and solar farms to local utilities across a web of high-voltage transmission lines. It also approves new power projects and buys electricity on behalf of utilities to make sure there is enough power to meet demand.
Decisions by PJM affect electricity prices and reliability, but the process is rigged against us. Its decision-making is complicated, with little public accountability, and is driven largely by big power companies, utilities, and other energy corporations. Consumers have little say, but pay the price. And the corporations get the windfall.
WHAT'S GONE WRONG?
Prices rise when energy production falls short of demand. Data centers, AI, and crypto-mining are driving up needs, and more power is needed to keep up. Higher costs could have been avoided if PJM had planned better.
The biggest problem: PJM's outdated grid connection process has created a massive backlog of new energy projects. About 3,000 projects are waiting for PJM approval; about 95% are renewable energy sources, which are cheaper and quicker to build. This bottleneck leaves Pennsylvania relying heavily on gas for about 60% of its electricity, which is costlier and less reliable. Less than 5% comes from cheaper, clean energy sources.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
Governor Josh Shapiro took on PJM and successfully negotiated a settlement from even higher electricity costs, saving consumers billions of dollars. But a bigger, long-term fix is needed to prevent further price hikes in the future.
Our grid needs better energy balance, incorporating more cheaper clean energy and battery storage to capture renewable power when it's most abundant and use it when needed.
If PJM unclogs the backlog of new projects, Pennsylvania households will save $500 per year on average and gain nearly 38,000 jobs. If it doesn’t, bills will continue to rise.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
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NO WINDFALLS FOR THE ENERGY INDUSTRY. MORE SAVINGS FOR ENERGY CONSUMERS.