PJM utilities are lobbying hard to own and build power plants again. (EPI)
Over the past two years, Exelon, FirstEnergy, PPL, and other utilities have met privately with officials and pushed legislation, the Energy & Policy Institute reported. The goal: reversing state policies from the late 1990s, which moved electricity generation from their hands to competitive wholesale markets.
Their pitch: Stability in a capacity market where price shocks are set to raise customer bills by hundreds of dollars a year. The pushback? Ratepayers, not shareholders, would absorb the risk.
While we’re here: Last week, a PJM committee approved a “connect-and-manage” framework, which lets large loads interconnect ahead of new generation…but subjects them to curtailment when supply runs thin.