PJM is the largest wholesale power market and transmission planning region in the US. Currently, it is stuck between a rock and a hard place: on one side, rising demand from data centers; on the other, a choked and congested interconnection queue that can’t keep pace. The result: rising prices and political discontent. I [David Roberts of the Volts podcast] talk with Clara Summers of the Citizens Utility Board about how PJM can solve this dilemma and get prices under control.

After months of suspense, the PJM Interconnection Board has proposed a series of policy changes on how to manage data center energy demand–a challenge that, if left unchecked, could in a few years spark catastrophic blackouts and price spikes for the 67 million customers who live in the nation’s largest power grid region. 

The following is a statement from CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz on the results of PJM Interconnection’s 2027-28 capacity auction, announced Wednesday, Dec. 17

Read the full statement here.

It’s time for another annual reflection from CUB’s Consumers for a Better Grid Campaign. With millions of customers dealing with electricity price spikes, 2025 was a busy year advocating for consumers at PJM Interconnection and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As part of that mission, the campaign held four media briefings, presented at or attended eight conferences, intervened in at least 10 legal cases, and was quoted by at least 25 different media outlets. Here’s more detail on what we tackled this year…