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Gov. Shapiro Threatens To Pull Pennsylvania Out Of PJM If It Does Not Protect Consumers Against Soaring Power Prices

On January 15, EnergyWire reported Gov. Josh Shapiro threatened to pull Pennsylvania out of PJM over the grid operator’s failure to protect state consumers against soaring power prices.

The risk of more power price escalation “threatens to undermine public confidence in PJM as an institution,” Gov. Shapiro said in his letter to Mark Takahashi, chair of PJM’s board of managers.

“A failure to hear the voices of Pennsylvania consumers speaking against this market failure will cause me to question whether Pennsylvania should remain within a construct that inflicts such unjust outcomes on our customers," Gov. Shapiro said.

PJM said in response to the letter, “We appreciate the governor’s letter and have reached out to his office to discuss next steps,” according to EnergyWire.

Pennsylvania generates about one-third of the electricity in the PJM interstate region and is the country’s largest net exporter of electricity.

Click Here for a copy of Gov. Shapiro's letter.

New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy wrote a etter on January 17 expressing similar concerns.

This latest action by Gov. Shapiro follows other actions he took related to PJM electric cost issues--

-- On October 25, he joined the governors of Delaware, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey in calling on the PJM Interconnection to take "swift action" to change its electricity generation capacity auction rules to "prevent unnecessary increases in capacity costs" for their residents and businesses. Read more here.

-- On December 30, filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) against PJM Interconnection, criticizing flaws in PJM’s capacity auction design that threaten to impose significant new price increases. Read more here.

PennFuture issued this statement in reaction to Gov. Shapiro’s warning to PJM--

PennFuture strongly supports Governor Josh Shapiro's formal warning to PJM Interconnection Chair Mark Takahashi that without meaningful action to address unjust and unreasonable costs on Pennsylvanians, he may be forced to consider the state’s withdrawal from PJM markets.

PJM’s market design is creating a windfall for polluting fossil fuel sources, inflating utility costs, and continuing to slow the process of deploying new clean generation and storage resources.

Governor Shapiro is showing his commitment to protecting Pennsylvanians from unfairly high energy costs while providing a cleaner, more sustainable future for the Commonwealth.

This past summer, energy prices to utilities operated by PJM saw dramatic increases.

Although PJM attributes these price hikes to rising energy demand, the underlying issue remains clear: gas resources have been much less reliable than promised and PJM has struggled to integrate the clean, renewable energy sources we need in a timely manner.

There are over 2,000 energy generation projects pending in the PJM queue, with 90 percent of these projects focused on clean, renewable energy alternatives such as wind, solar, and battery storage.

Despite this significant push for cleaner energy, PJM has failed to address systemic issues that would allow these projects to come online faster and more effectively.

And Pennsylvanians are feeling the impacts of this delay in their wallets.

“If PJM continues to delay the integration of clean energy into the grid, it’s not just a missed opportunity — it’s a failure to act in the best interests of Pennsylvanians,” said PennFuture President & CEO Patrick McDonnell. “The Commonwealth is ready for a renewable energy future that will lower utility costs for consumers and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but PJM must take steps to allow that future to unfold. If PJM is unwilling to address these access issues, we believe all options should remain on the table, including leaving PJM.”

Click Here for a copy of PennFuture’s statement.

Background On PJM Issues:

-- PUC Invites Stakeholder Comments On The Issue Of The Adequacy Of Electricity Supplies In Pennsylvania [Background On Electricity Supply Issue] [PaEN]

Resource Links:

-- 30 Stakeholder Comments Received By PUC On Adequacy Of Electricity Supplies In Pennsylvania; Increasing Natural Gas Power Plant Reliability To 90-95% Would Mean No Imminent Capacity Problem [PaEN]

-- PUC Urges Natural Gas Customers To Explore Ways To Reduce Heating Costs; All But One Major Gas Utility Has Increased Cost Of Gas In PA [PaEN]

-- PUC: Natural Gas Distribution Companies Prepare For Winter - Gas Consumption Expected To Decrease 1.8%, Cost For Residential Customers To Increase 1% [PaEN]

-- PUC Encourages Consumers To Prepare For Dec. 1 Electricity Price Changes; Rates Will Vary From 8.4% Decrease To 31.2% Increase [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp: Natural Gas Electric Generation Is Threatened This Winter By Ongoing Concerns About Gas Production, Delivery In Extreme Weather Conditions [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection Winter Outlook: Adequate Power Supplies Available Under Normal Conditions; PJM Delays Next Power Auction After Prices Spike [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania’s Electric Grid Is Dependent On One Fuel To Generate 59% Of Our Electricity; Market Moving To Renewables + Storage [PaEN]

Extreme Cold Alert!

-- Public Utility Commission Urges Consumers To Prepare For Extreme Cold Next Week [PaEN]

-- Shapiro Administration Urges Readiness In Advance Of Dangerous Cold Weather

-- PJM Interconnection: New All-Time Peak Electricity Demand Possible Jan. 20-22; PJM Working With Gas Generators To Try To Get Them Online Before Extreme Cold Hits [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Wintry Blast To Unleash Snow, Test Electric Grids From Midwest To NYC

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Jan. 11 to 17 - More Abandoned Shale Gas, Than Conventional Wells So Far In 2025; Failed Act 2 Cleanup; Acid Forming Rock; Expired Permits [PaEN]

-- What The Shale Gas Industry Is Leaving Behind: Diversified Production LLC Starts 2025 With 11 Violations For Abandoning, Not Plugging Shale Gas Wells [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - January 18 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 107 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 18 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

What The Shale Gas, Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Is Leaving Behind:

-- What The Shale Gas Industry Is Leaving Behind: Diversified Production LLC Starts 2025 With 11 Violations For Abandoning, Not Plugging Shale Gas Wells [PaEN]

-- What The Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Is Leaving Behind: Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells On Federal Lands - Shenango River Lake, Allegheny National Forest [PaEN]

-- What The Shale Gas Industry Is Leaving Behind: DEP: Diversified Production LLC Failed To Plug 2 Abandoned Shale Gas Wells For 42 Months + At Least 9 Other Shale Gas Wells Abandoned [PaEN]

-- What The Shale Gas Industry Is Leaving Behind: DEP: Nucomer Energy LLC Fails To Restore Shale Gas Well Pad, Water Impoundment In Forest County For More Than 12 Years After Drilling Was Completed [PaEN]

-- What The Shale Gas Industry Is Leaving Behind: DEP Issues 10 Violations To Big Dog Energy, LLC, Diversified Production LLC For Abandoning Shale Gas Wells; Violations For Shale Gas Abandonments More Than Doubled In 2024 [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Registration Now Open! 2025 Shale Gas & Public Health Conference At Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Online Feb. 27 [PaEN]

-- Rep. Vitali Introduces Bill To Ban Road Dumping Millions Of Gallons Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater, Supported By The Shapiro Administration [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Oil & Gas Companies Need Greater Incentives To Cap Their Old Wells [Higher Well Plugging Bonds Needed To Keep Number Of Abandoned Wells From Rising]

-- Rep. Vitali Introduces Bill To Establish DEP Environmental Justice Permit Review Program In Law, Analyze Cumulative Impacts Of Pollution From Facilities, Supported By DEP [PaEN]

-- EPA Issues Permit To Seneca Resources Company For Elk County Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well [PaEN]

-- TECfusions Unveils Massive 1,400-Acre Data Center Project With 3 Gigawatts Of Natural Gas-Fired Power Generation In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- 30 Stakeholder Comments Received By PUC On Adequacy Of Electricity Supplies In Pennsylvania; Increasing Natural Gas Power Plant Reliability To 90-95% Would Mean No Imminent Capacity Problem [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Threatens To Pull Pennsylvania Out Of PJM If It Does Not Protect Consumers Against Soaring Power Prices [PaEN]

-- PUC Commissioner Kathryn Zerfuss Appointed To National Committees On Natural Gas, Pipeline Safety

-- PennTAP: Small & Mid-Size Industries Must Complete An Energy Technical Assessment Report To Be Eligible For RISE PA Decarbonization Grants [PaEN]

-- DEP Hosts Jan. 24 Webinar Q&A On RISE PA Decarbonization Grant Program [PaEN]

-- NASEO Hosts Jan. 27 Webinar On RISE PA Decarbonization Grant Program, PA Energy Programs For Industry [PaEN]

-- PA Solar Center Hosts Jan. 31 Webinar On RISE PA Decarbonization Grant Program For Industry [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- PennLive Letter: There Must Be More Oversight Of Dangerous Fracking Wastewater In PA - By Dr. Robert Little