For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Jackie Greger, Jackie.Greger@sierraclub.org
As Federal Regulators Scrutinize PJM, New Jersey Leaders Demand a Grid That Answers to Ratepayers
Ahead of the July 23 FERC technical conference on PJM governance, New Jersey legislators and advocates call for real state and consumer power over the grid operator driving up electric bills
TRENTON, N.J. — On July 23, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) convened a daylong technical conference in Washington to examine how PJM Interconnection governs itself and who gets a real say in its decisions. PJM is the regional grid operator for all of New Jersey and 12 other states plus the District of Columbia, running the wholesale markets that determine a growing share of what 67 million people pay for electricity.
The conference comes after a period of record-shattering costs. PJM's annual capacity auction jumped from about $29 per megawatt-day to roughly $270 in the 2024 auction, driving the region's total capacity bill from $2.2 billion to $14.7 billion. Those costs began flowing into bills in June 2025, when some New Jersey households saw increases of up to 20 percent. The most recent auction cleared at a record $329.17 per megawatt-day, hitting the temporary price cap while failing to secure enough power generation to ensure future reliability.
FERC Chairman Laura Swett has framed the conference as a working session aimed at "concrete, actionable reforms," and has signaled the commission will not hesitate to act if PJM does not fix itself. Commissioner David LaCerte has called the status quo "untenable."
“Back in Jersey, people are having to choose between groceries or their energy bill – this is what happens when monopolies at the top put profits over people without any effective oversight,” said Senator Kim. “We need transparency, accountability, and real solutions from PJM about how they plan to bring costs down for millions of people and stop price gouging those who simply should not have to live like this.”
— Senator Andy Kim
"New Jersey families are seeing a steep increase in electricity bills without any say over the grid operator responsible for these increases. This conference is necessary, but we need more transparency during this decision-making process," said Congressman Herb Conaway, MD. "Our residents deserve a grid that answers to them."
— Congressman Herb Conaway, MD (NJ-3)
“PJM’s own process has been a significant driver of higher electric costs for New Jersey families. The grid operator has failed to manage surging electricity demand from data centers and allowed more cost-effective clean energy projects to languish in a years-long interconnection queue. The households paying the bills have almost no formal voice in how PJM makes its rules and most committee votes happen without any public disclosure,” continued. That needs to change.”
— State Senator Andrew Zwicker (LD-16)
"New Jersey families are paying more every month because of an organization most of them have never heard of and none of them can hold accountable. PJM's markets set our prices, but the people who pay those prices have almost no say in the rules. That is indefensible, and I'm glad FERC is finally putting it under a microscope, but there are serious issues with even how this conference is being conducted. State legislators were denied a representative in the room, which unfortunately, seems like more of the same.”
— State Senator Bob Smith (LD-17)
"New Jersey has already acted to make sure large data centers pay for the grid strain they create instead of passing it to families, and we've moved to require utilities to disclose how they vote at PJM. Now it's time for PJM and FERC to catch up. We'll keep pushing until the households footing the bill stop subsidizing the costs of others,"
— Assemblyman Dave Bailey (LD-3)
"The public officials whose entire job is protecting ratepayers are outnumbered inside PJM by the very interests they're supposed to check, and too many votes happen in the dark. We want to see full voting rights for consumer advocates and public, member-level disclosure of how PJM votes. You can't hold a process accountable when you can't see how decisions get made,"
— Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak (LD-18)
"Years of PJM's slow-moving process failures are now landing on kitchen tables across New Jersey. This conference is a chance to build a record for real change, giving states and ratepayers a genuine voice, unclogging the interconnection queue so ready projects can connect, and ending preferential treatment that keeps costs high. We'll be watching closely for FERC to move from listening to acting,"
— Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Director, New Jersey Sierra Club
"The results of this latest capacity auction make one thing clear: New Jersey families and businesses cannot continue to bear the cost of PJM's failures," said Allison McLeod, Interim Executive Director, New Jersey LCV. "PJM has failed to meet its responsibility to ensure an affordable, reliable electricity system, and working families are paying the price through higher utility bills. Instead of allowing cheaper, clean energy to come online, PJM's mismanagement has delayed projects that would increase supply, strengthen grid reliability, and put downward pressure on energy prices. New Jersey residents cannot afford to wait for PJM to fix a problem of its own making. State and federal leaders must act now to remove these unnecessary barriers, bring more affordable clean energy online, and provide meaningful relief for households and businesses struggling with rising electricity costs."
- Allison McLeod, Interim Executive Director, New Jersey LCV
"July 23 is the beginning of a process, not a one-day event. The price protections that blunted the last two auctions expire after 2028, and the rules being debated now will shape every auction after that. We need FERC to act decisively and open the black box, rebalance who holds power inside PJM, and make sure the next chapter is one where New Jersey ratepayers finally have a say,"
— Winn Khuong, Executive Director, Action Together New Jersey
"New Jersey should not have less say over its own grid operator than a single utility does. We're watching this conference for real reforms that give states a genuine role in PJM's decisions, whether that's a stronger role for the Organization of PJM States (OPSI), a seat at the board, or a way for states to put their own proposals in front of FERC. PJM won’t better serve the families and small businesses shouldering the burden of electricity costs if utilities and corporate interests continue to have the most say in how the grid operates.”
— Julia Kortrey, Director of Strategic Initiatives, States Program at Evergreen Action.
A technical conference does not itself change any rules. What it does is build a formal record FERC can use to open proceedings, direct PJM to file reforms, or impose changes if PJM will not act on its own. A multi-state technical conference expected in September is likely to build on what surfaces on July 23.
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