Power Grid Operator PJM's Admission

Pennsylvania’s power grid operator PJM Interconnection put its bias on record, stating that it favors the fossil fuel-powered facilities already on its grid over connecting new, cheap, shovel-ready clean energy projects to the grid. 

From WHYY on May 29, 2025:
"Those organizations who visited today have actively worked to push critical power resources off of the system, raising prices and threatening reliability, and now they are protesting the results of their own actions," said PJM spokesperson Jeff Shields in an emailed statement. "We have been warning of this imbalance between supply and demand for some years now and continue to work proactively to maximize our available electricity for the benefit of consumers. Today's protest is simply an exercise in blame shifting."

To be clear, PennFuture and fellow environmental organizations have long advocated for power generating facilities to comply with existing standards to protect public health and ensure we maintain our constitutionally-protected right to clean air and clean water. Unfortunately, these utility companies tend to prioritize profits over public health, and rather than updating their facilities to comply with basic standards, they choose to abandon both their facilities and the surrounding communities. 

For years, PJM had the opportunity to adapt to a changing energy market that prioritizes clean and low-cost resources like solar and wind paired with battery storage. PennFuture and other organizations have advocated for these reliable sources to be brought online. Unfortunately, PJM has consistently failed to effectively plan for the long-scheduled retirements of old coal plants. PJM itself has now become a chief obstacle preventing the integration of additional "critical resources" into the grid, ultimately resulting in higher electricity prices for Pennsylvanians.

PJM's governance structure favors the owners of existing fossil fuel producers over new market entrants. It is repellant that PJM is employing the same tired fossil fuel industry tactic of  attempting to shift blame to people who aren’t willing to sacrifice their health, environment, or reliable grid for power company profits.  It is PJM’s failure to proactively adjust to market signals that has caused this problem–and has caused our energy prices to skyrocket–and they should own up to their mistakes and act now to make things right.
 
Rather than shirking responsibility and making excuses, PJM needs to take accountability for its failures and clarify why it is distinct among Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) in its inability to bring the clean energy we need to our grid.