PJM Capacity Auction Prices Skyrocket
Buckle up folks, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for electricity rates. Last summer, PJM’s capacity auction rose over seven times their usual amount. And it sent the market into a frenzy. A lawsuit between PJM and PA Governor Josh Shapiro attempted to address these rising costs. But, while the complaint was settled, we’re still on the hook for a rate hike from those crazy auction results. To be sure, those rate hikes have hurt. Rates for some utility customers have risen almost 16%.
Unfortunately, this most recent auction has jumped even higher. Last year’s auction cost around $2.2 billion. This year it has risen by 22% to an astounding $14.7 billion. Certainly, we can expect PA utility rates to jump again next summer.
PJM Grid Mismanaged?
This most recent capacity auction had prices jumping by a whopping 22%. In fact, they might have spiked more if not for the FERC approved price cap that resulted from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s lawsuit. And electricity rates will continue to rise if PJM doesn’t solve their capacity issue.
In what feels like a tale as old as time, critics argue that PJM rushed to retire old power plants while new ones languished in their connection queue. At one point, new projects faced a delay of 4 years. That’s 286 GW of power sitting on standby. They’re now promising to fast track certain power projects. But it will take time for PJM to comply with FERC on their interconnection process.
Despite all this, PJM has added new generation to the grid for the first time in the last four auctions. However, they barely cleared having enough to supply the region. And with new planned data centers pushing demand higher, this puts all PJM consumers at risk for blackouts during severe weather.
Data Centers Scooping up Power in PJM
Data center growth in PA is huge. $90 billion worth of data center projects are expected to flow into PA in the next few year, promising revenue and jobs. But along with it comes a power drain. By 2030, PJM is expecting 32 gigawatts of increased demand on its system. However, all but two of those gigawatts are coming from data centers.
In short, it’s not people demanding power, but data centers. This unprecedented power demand is straining an already precarious grid. Massive heat waves, a nervous natural gas market, and aging infrastructure are all contrinbuting to the strain.
Avoid Rate Hikes and Save on Bills
It remains to be seen how this will ultimately affect prices in the region. PJM is expecting a smaller increase of 1.5-5% in electricity bills due to these auction results. But as the rate increases stack, one thing is for sure. Saving on electricity has become even more important.
The best way you can save money is to lock in a fixed-rate electricity plan before rates jump again. Find the best plan for your home with us. Visit https://www.paenergyratings.com to explore the various electric plans in your area.