For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Jackie Greger, Jackie.Greger@sierraclub.org
With Electricity Bills Rising in June, NJ and PA Elected Officials, Consumer and Clean Energy Advocates Convene Outside Electric Grid Operator PJM Headquarters
Demand That PJM Act to Hold Down Electricity Costs and
Improve Energy Reliability by Clearing Long Backlog of Power Projects Awaiting Approval
NORISSTOWN, PA: With families and small businesses across the region about to be hit with increases in electric bills of as much as $30 more per month starting in June, consumer and clean energy advocates from Pennsylvania and New Jersey braved the rain and chill to gather outside the headquarters of electric grid manager PJM Interconnection to urge PJM leadership to do more to protect family budgets and bring more clean, affordable energy to the electric grid as quickly as possible.
PJM, headquartered outside Philadelphia, is the company that manages the regional electric grid for 65 million people across all or part of 13 states and the District of Columbia.
June’s electric bill increases are expected to be only the beginning if PJM does not reform its practices to keep up with rising demand for electricity from large data centers coming online in the coming years. Speakers urged lawmakers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and other PJM states to continue to put pressure on PJM to reform its decision-making and practices, including clearing the nearly 3,000 backlogged energy projects, most of them renewable energy projects, that are waiting for approval to connect to the electrical grid.
“Let’s be clear, our region’s upcoming electricity rate hikes are not due to MAGA’s manufactured ‘clean energy mandate’ - there is no such thing. These rate hikes are because of the greed of PJM Interconnection and some of its corporate members, and their failure to connect cheaper, cleaner energy that would provide much needed relief to ratepayers. Clean energy is cheaper, period. If PJM connected more clean energy to our grid and reform its process, the average New Jersey home would save $400 annually,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Director of the NJ Sierra Club.
“PJM is relying on outdated, inefficient, expensive, and dirty energy sources to inflate prices and gouge customers to maximize profit,” continued Ramos-Busot. “Today, we are here outside of their headquarters calling on PJM to institute massive queue reform to move clean projects forward, not hand out fast passes to the fossil fuel industry that skyrocket prices for ratepayers.”
"We have an urgent responsibility to greatly increase the renewable energy sources in our grid, both to care for creation and to care for each other,” said Rev. Nathaniel Mahlberg of the United Church of Christ in Valley Forge and POWER Interfaith. “PJM has the power and the means to do so, but its skewed priorities are doing harm to ratepayers and the environment."
“PJM’s dysfunction means low-income folks pay more for dirty energy,” added Patrick Houston, Campaign Manager, HERE 4 Climate Justice. “That’s not fair. But it is avoidable. PJM needs to get serious about approving clean energy projects that create jobs and cut pollution. Until then, PJMs delay on renewables—and their default to fossil gas—may force more low-income folks in Philly, and beyond, to have to choose between keeping the lights on or the fridge full.”
Renewable energy like solar and wind is now cheaper than other energy sources. Combined with energy storage, it can deliver power more reliably than ever. But currently, less than 5% of the PJM region’s electricity is powered by cheaper, home-grown renewable energy sources.
Advocates were joined by PA State Representative Chris Rabb (D-Phila.), who has introduced legislation (HB 782) to end secret voting on regional energy policies by members of PJM by requiring electric utilities to disclose their recorded votes and explain how their vote was in the public interest. “Decisions by PJM and its members directly impact people’s electricity bill and our commonwealth’s transition to affordable clean energy,” said Rabb. “Allowing these secret votes with no accountability is akin to the fox guarding the hen house. The people have a right to know about the decisions that are being made behind closed doors – especially as those decisions impact our policies and people’s paychecks.”
Speakers highlighted steps by PA Governor Josh Shapiro, NJ Governor Phil Murphy, and some other elected officials in the PJM region who similarly are pressuring PJM to institute reforms to protect consumers, hold down electricity costs, and strengthen grid reliability. They urged more elected leaders across PJM states to join those efforts to prevent future price hikes down the road while ensuring a reliable, sustainable electric grid.
A recording of the event can be viewed at this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/667525132788706/
Photos from the event can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pvBqxmT1y03Kx03qVGZdxA7rrQ3zTrgG?usp=drive_link
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