FERC has options for modernizing PJM’s governance

This is a legal and regulatory debate about how PJM Interconnection, the grid operator running wholesale electricity markets across 13 mid-Atlantic and Midwest states plus Washington, D.C., is governed. Rising electricity demand from data centers has pushed prices up across the region, and federal regulators at FERC are weighing changes to how PJM makes decisions. A Harvard Law scholar argues FERC has clear authority to reshape parts of PJM's rulebook, including who gets to propose changes to market and transmission-planning rules, and how PJM picks its board members. Utility companies are pushing back, arguing they should keep more control over these processes, while some states and their governors want a bigger say.

For a homeowner, none of this is something to act on directly. But it matters because PJM's rules affect the wholesale price of electricity, which flows through to what utilities charge on your bill. Slow or utility-favored decision-making at PJM has been blamed for some of the price increases tied to data center growth. If FERC ends up giving states more formal input into PJM's planning and market rules, that could shape how quickly the region builds new power lines and generation, and how costs from data-center-driven demand get shared. There is no deadline or program here for homeowners to respond to, just a regulatory fight over who controls the rules that eventually show up in your electric rate.