A cheaper, cleaner grid demands action.
What is PJM?
PJM Interconnection is the operator of the largest power grid in the U.S.
PJM coordinates the movement of electricity through all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. This private corporation manages energy markets that have a significant impact on the power bills paid by 67 million people.
The general idea is good—large grids and large markets can save us money. But the execution is deeply flawed since the big energy companies (mostly utilities) that sell us the product (electricity) dominate the entity (PJM) that sets the market rules that determine what we pay.
The problem:
Too often, PJM forces us to pay more for electricity, because their members, like the ones that own coal- and gas-fired power plants, have stacked the market rules against consumers. Solar and wind projects, meanwhile, wait up to 5 years to get connected to the grid—and our homes. So project costs go up while the planet, and our lungs, suffer.
PJM has the power of a government but is a private corporation. Board meetings happen behind closed doors and many decisions can’t be appealed. Too often the powerful (and power companies) are appeased. Let’s help them do better.
We get it. Running a grid for 67 million people is hard and PJM does a lot of things right. But keeping the lights on shouldn’t come at excess cost to us or the planet.
Let’s work to make the grid better.
