️ Why are your electricity bills climbing? Meet PJM Interconnection—the company managing PA’s grid and blocking affordable clean energy. Watch to learn how their fossil fuel-friendly decisions affect your wallet and what you can do about it.
The PJM Interconnection, the largest regional transmission organization in the United States, has once again demonstrated its inability to effectively address the longstanding interconnection queue backlog. Despite years of criticism and the urgent need for reform, PJM’s recent actions have proven insufficient in facilitating the timely integration of renewable energy projects into the grid.
A Persistent Bottleneck
As of late 2024, over 2,000 renewable energy projects remain in PJM’s interconnection queue, with the vast majority being solar, wind, or battery storage initiatives. If connected, these projects could inject tens of gigawatts of clean energy into the grid, potentially creating thousands of jobs and billions in capital investment. However, the current queue process is mired in delays, with some developers facing wait times of five years or more.
Political Pressure Mounts: Pennsylvania’s Lawsuit and Collar Agreement with PJM
The longstanding issues within PJM Interconnection’s interconnection queue have escalated into significant political action. In December 2024, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro filed a formal complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), challenging PJM’s capacity auction design. The complaint highlighted that, due to PJM’s failure to process new power plant connections, the upcoming capacity auction could impose over $20 billion in unnecessary costs on consumers across PJM’s 13-state region, including 13 million Pennsylvanians.
Governor Shapiro criticized PJM’s auction rules as “misfiring,” producing record price increases without enhancing grid reliability. He argued that the current system was “physically impossible” for new resources to enter, leading to artificially inflated prices that do not benefit consumers or assure grid reliability.
In response, PJM acknowledged the issues and, in January 2025, reached an agreement with Governor Shapiro to lower the capacity auction price cap from over $500 per megawatt-day to $325 per megawatt-day. This adjustment is expected to save consumers over $21 billion in energy costs over two years and prevent excessive price hikes across the 13 states PJM serves.
Despite this agreement, the underlying problem of a congested interconnection queue remains unresolved. The queue continues to hinder the timely integration of renewable energy projects such as wind, solar, and battery storage into the grid.
While the collar agreement has temporarily relieved rising energy costs, it underscores the need for comprehensive reform of PJM’s interconnection process. Governor Shapiro’s actions highlight the urgency of addressing these systemic issues to ensure a reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy future for Pennsylvania and the broader PJM region.
Additionally, the Organization of PJM States Inc. (OPSI), representing state utility commissions, has called on PJM to shift from a “reactive” planning approach to more proactive and cost-effective strategies for maintaining grid reliability.
Recent Reforms: Too Little, Too Late
In an attempt to address the backlog, PJM implemented a “first-ready, first-served” cluster study process, the Reliability Resource Initiative (RRI), aiming to expedite the review of projects that are ready to proceed. This has been criticized for not being expedient enough, especially given the active renewable portfolio standards in many PJM jurisdictions. PJM released its list of 50 selected projects from this cluster study. Of those projects, 39 were natural gas, one was onshore wind, and none were solar. Looking specifically at Pennsylvania, five natural gas plants will increase generation. Despite its unreliability, PJM continues to focus on pushing natural gas for energy generation.
Furthermore, PJM’s request for variances to a new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rule intended to speed up the connection of new power resources has raised concerns. Environmental and consumer organizations argue that PJM’s proposed reforms are insufficient and that the grid operator should fully embrace the new FERC rules to accelerate interconnection and quickly bring new generation online.
The Road Ahead
While PJM has acknowledged the need for reform, its recent actions suggest a lack of urgency and commitment to meaningful change. The continued delays in the interconnection process threaten to undermine state renewable energy goals and hinder progress toward a cleaner, more reliable energy grid. The RRI selections also show PJM’s disingenuous attempt at bringing reliable, immediate energy to the grid. 78 percent of the selected projects are natural gas, and most won’t be online until after 2030. A lack of battery storage solutions and a lack of cheaper, cleaner renewable energy projects highlight PJM’s insistence on the status quo.
To move forward, PJM must prioritize the timely integration of renewable energy projects, fully embrace federal reforms, and work collaboratively with state regulators and stakeholders to develop a more efficient and transparent interconnection process. Without decisive action, the grid operator risks further eroding public trust and impeding the transition to a sustainable energy future.