The operator of the nation’s largest electric grid will pay about $16 billion to secure power supply between June 2026 and May 2027, in hopes of serving rising data center energy demand and averting blackouts in increasingly extreme weather.
PJM Interconnection announced the results of the capacity auction Tuesday. The cost — which is 9.5 percent more than PJM paid a year ago — will be passed on to the grid operator’s 67 million customers, continuing a trend of rising consumer utility bills. That rising cost has triggered political pushback from leaders in PJM’s coverage area of 13 states and the District of Columbia.
PJM is counting on the higher price to boost investment in urgently needed new generation, according to PJM and the North American Electric Reliability Corp., the grid’s security standards organization.
The PJM-wide capacity price of $16.1 billion averages to $329.17 per megawatt for each day a supplier operates during the 2026-2027 delivery year.
