Energy & Grid Management
Thu, Sep 3
Molly Glick
Molly Glick
Energy Central Team
·Posted in Energy & Grid Management

NEWS: Ratepayer advocates aren’t keen on PJM’s emergency capacity auction.

  • Nope: Officials in DE, DC, IL, MD, and NJ are asking FERC to reject PJM’s Reliability Backstop Procurement (RBP) plan. Under the RBP, PJM hopes to close a nearly 7-GW capacity gap for the 2028/2029 delivery year (at a cost of up to $20B).

  • The risk: They claim the auction could raise ratepayers’ bills for projected data center-driven demand…which might not fully materialize. In Maryland alone, ratepayers could get saddled with over $500M in costs over the next 15 years. Plus, as energy market expert Rao Konidena pointed out, the auction would leave out cheaper residential DER capacity.

  • What’s next: If given the green light by FERC, PJM aims to hold the auction from Sept. 30 to Oct. 21 (and announce the results in early December).

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