PJM Explained:
What Is PJM?
PJM Interconnection (usually just called “PJM”) is the organization responsible for operating the electric system (“grid”) supplying power to 65 million people who live in 13 states.
Its territory spans Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C., along with parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and North Carolina. PJM is designated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as a “Regional Transmission Organization (RTO),” one of a number of RTOs charged with ensuring a safe and reliable power supply. Each RTO is independent from the others.
PJM’s Three Core Priorities Are:
- Keeping the lights on. At PJM, this specifically refers to grid operations, monitoring the transmission of electricity, and balancing the supply of electricity with demand.
- Administering the buying and selling of electricity through wholesale electricity markets. PJM procures electricity through both a daily “spot” market and a “capacity” market that secures commitments to deliver electricity at a future date 3 years from now.
- Assessing and planning for the future needs of the electric grid, looking at a 15-year planning window.
PJM does not own utilities, nor does it direct them on what to do. PJM also does not own the transmission lines for electricity. But, utilities who join PJM as members grant PJM permission to use those high-voltage, long-distance transmission lines and equipment to manage the flow of electricity across the grid.
Looking for a deeper dive? EEA recommends these resources for learning more about PJM:
- “PJM 101” video explainer from Consumers for a Better Grid, a watchdog project of the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois.
- “Understanding PJM Interconnection: Powering the Grid Efficiently” video explainer from Edgecom Energy.
- “PJM: Working to Perfect the Flow of Energy” video explainer from PJM Interconnection.
- “An Introductory Guide for Participation in PJM Processes” webpage from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
PJM Explained:
Who Has A Say In PJM?
PJM is governed by its bylaws. PJM’s website notes that:
“PJM’s corporate structure works through the interaction of the PJM Board of Managers, member organizations and stakeholders. The PJM Board of Managers in conjunction with the Members Committee ensures independent decision-making and fair and impartial treatment of all PJM members.”
THE MAJOR PLAYERS:
The PJM Board of Managers seats nine voting members and the PJM CEO (who does not vote). Board Members serve three-year terms and are not permitted any financial stake or professional relationship with a PJM Member.
PJM has more than 1100 members, of which 509 qualify as voting members. You can view the list here. Voting members fit into one of five categories: Transmission Owners, Generation Owners, Other Suppliers, Electric Distributors, and End-Use Customers.
PJM members and stakeholders form committees, subcommittees, task forces, user groups, and workshops to resolve issues through discussion and negotiation.
The Organization of PJM States Inc. (OPSI) is a collaborative group of state utility regulatory agencies (such as the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, or PUC, in Pennsylvania, or the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, or BPU, in New Jersey) that cover PJM territory. OPSI collects market data and acts as a liaison between PJM and state regulators.
Additional Resources:
- More detailed information about voting and governance in PJM is available from MAREC (Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition) here.
- You can register to attend many of PJM’s committee meetings. A complete meeting calendar is available here.
- A diagram of PJM’s current committee structure is available here.
- PJM’s factsheet on oversight and transparency.
- PJM’s Quick Guide on the stakeholder process.
PJM Explained:
PJM Prices Are Going Up
Alarm bells started ringing in July 2024, when PJM announced the results of its wholesale electricity capacity auction for the 2025-26 delivery year. This annual auction helps power providers “match” their future offerings with wholesale power purchasers (like utilities) in a regulated market environment.
Total proceeds from the 2024 auction were $14.7 billion — almost SEVEN times the 2023 auction total of $2.2 billion.
Megawatt-Day prices in the 2025 auction went to $329—but no further—thanks to a binding “price cap” established by PA Governor Josh Shapiro’s legal settlement with PJM negotiated earlier in the year. Following pressure from 13 governors in PJM states, PJM extended the price cap through 2029.
Why PJM Matters to Energy Affordability
PJM’s Impact On YOUR Electricity Bill
Your electricity bills are going up, and PJM is a big part of the problem. PJM’s wholesale energy market prices comprise about 25% of your electricity bill.
But PJM’s decisions also affect your long-term energy affordability in terms of what sorts of energy generation are included in the mix of your supply and what costs are allocated to states for transmission and distribution of electricity. In short: PJM’s decisions directly impact the affordability and cleanliness of the energy you get and the reliability of your grid. Balancing the supply of energy and meeting the demand for it is a core responsibility of PJM.
The Energy Efficiency Alliance believes that PJM’s approach to managing the grid in our region has failed us, resulting in sharply higher prices and a lack of any true consumer voice in its decisions. Even the governors and public utility commissions in the 13 states affected by PJM’s decisions have NO formal voice or vote in PJM’s operations.
PJM boasts an extensive stakeholder framework with many committees, but decisions are made at the top behind closed doors using a weighted system that puts the most power in hands of the two segments of its membership who transmit and generate power – and thus have a vested interest in keeping the status quo.
We deserve modernization of our grid and a balanced energy supply.
We’re not kidding: your electricity bills got a LOT higher.
Look at the latest data showing increases around the country. Pennsylvania stands out with increases more than 20%, and New Jersey wasn’t far behind at 20% increases. Wouldn’t it be great to get a 20% raise to go with that?
Multiple analyses predict continuing bill increases if we don’t change course now. A report from American Clean Power found that cumulative 10-year bill increases for the average residential household would total between $3,000 and $8,500 in added costs with no clean power added to PJM. A Synapse Energy report concluded:
“[I]f PJM continues down its current path, residential electricity bills in the region are expected to increase by nearly 60 percent by the 2036–2040 period compared to historical levels”
Unfortunately, the price increases are projected to only get worse if we don’t start moving projects through the PJM pipeline faster. PJM has the slowest project queue of any RTO in the nation.
Why PJM Matters to Energy Affordability
Busting PJM Myths about Electricity Prices
What’s causing PJM wholesale prices to go up? Some special interest groups blame our region’s growing investments in renewable energy, calling for more fossil fuel power plants. But this myth doesn’t hold up under scrutiny:
- PJM’s electricity mix is only about 5% renewables like wind or solar. These sources play far too small a role to explain the seismic shifts in PJM market conditions.
- About 60% of the electricity generated in PJM territory comes from gas plants. Gas prices shot up 20% in 2024, and gas generation can be unreliable and expensive in the winter. Overreliance on any single generation source is clearly harming PJM consumers.
- In 2024, the vast majority of generation projects still waiting for PJM interconnection, and thus unavailable for the capacity auction, were renewables like solar, wind, and battery. This implies that PJM’s dysfunctional queue—which can take years to approve projects—was restricting supply and holding up renewables deployment, even while other market conditions favored those projects.
- The cost of electricity from wind and solar power has dropped dramatically in recent years. Electricity costs from utility-scale wind and solar can be as little as half the cost of fossil fuels.
Expanded renewable energy is a solution to the PJM energy imbalance, not the cause.
Why PJM Matters to Energy Affordability
How Does PJM Compare to Other Grid Operators?
What is driving high PJM prices? Much of the affordability crisis is because PJM let projects languish in its waiting line (i.e. “interconnection queue” ) for more than five or six years, while demand for electricity—fed by power-hunger data centers—charges full steam ahead. PJM even stopped accepting new projects into its queue for a few years leading up to the 2o24 auction. More than 80% of these waiting energy generation projects were large-scale solar and wind developments with financial backers.
Many of the factors driving PJM prices upwards are not unique to the PJM region—other RTOs are also seeing increased data center demand and unreliability from natural gas plants. While bill increases are common across the nation, few other RTOs have seen as dramatic a price increase.
Unfortunately, PJM’s recently proposed solution is to fast-track certain other projects ahead of the entire queu, while previously registered businesses with steep investments patiently continued to wait, or towatch their deals unravel. This mismanagement keeps the supply of energy in our grid region needlessly lower than it should be, driving up prices. The powerful members of PJM who will profit from this scenario vote to advance their agenda. YOU, the electricity consumer, have very little say.
PJM Explained:
Does PJM Need Reform?
Over the past two years, multiple parties have called for reform to PJM’s operations. PJM’s prior CEO announced in mid-2025 that he would step down at the end of the year. The 13 governors of the PJM states have united across multiple actions, and increasingly industry players are adding their voices to the reform chorus from the public and advocates.
Notable Calls For Reform:
- Statement of Principles Regarding PJM (January 2026) — This statement, signed by 13 Governors, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Energy, called for consumer-pr