Democratic Governors Align with Sierra Club, Urge Big Tech to Pay Their Fair Share

Washington, D.C. - Today, Democratic governors from Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland signed onto a dealto ensure PJM takes measures that ensure Big Tech is paying their fair share for their massive power usage.

The nation's largest grid operator, PJM, has been in the process of creating a plan to confront the massive amount of demand brought to the region by Big Tech's data centers. In December 2025, Sierra Club sent a letterurging PJM's board members to adopt a plan that protects its 67 million customers from more exorbitant bills, and from potential financial liability if a data center fails to pay for its fair share. Many elements of what the Sierra Club and allies have been pushing for were reflected in the deal made today.

The Democratic Governors' deal comes at an auspicious time, as PJM is expected to submit an update on their Critical Issue Fast Pass (Large Load Addition) policy development process to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, January 20. Despite numerous attacks on low-cost energy by the current federal administration, includingillegal cancellation of completed energy generation projects, and announcing a sham energy emergency that has been used to extend the operation of some of the most expensive coal-burning plants in the country, a coalition of bipartisan governors in the PJM have continued to participate in difficult dialogue and champion a meaningful set of solutions to address affordability.

"The Sierra Club has been on the frontlines fighting for PJM's customers to get a fair deal on their electricity bills and urging the regional operator to adopt meaningful policy," said Sierra Club Senior Advisor Jessi Eidbo."We have been working continuously with lawmakers, advocates, and PJM, to ensure that our communities aren't forced to pay Microsoft or Meta or any Big Tech company's power bills. While the grid operator has been dragging their feet to adopt measures to address exponentially increasing electric demand from large loads like data centers, the continued leadership and activity from these governors is a positive sign that a meaningful solution could be on the horizon.

"We are glad to see this deal come to fruition, but we know that this is just the first step to the future that we have been pushing for. We will continue to advocate on behalf of the 67 million people who depend on PJM to keep the lights on, and ensure that fairness and reliability continue to be at the forefront of PJM's work to serve its customers."

Elements of the agreement include an extension of the PJM price cap that Democratic governors, including Pennsylvania's Shapiro, fought to put in place during the 2025/2026 capacity auctions to protect customers from record-breaking high auction results at PJM.

However, other provisions proposed in the deal are still being discussed, like an expedited interconnection for data center generation, which raise concerns. As the specifics are hammered out, the Sierra Club will continue to advocate for expansion of low-cost generation assets to meaningfully address rising costs of electricity, which we understand to unequivocally be wind, solar, battery storage, and geothermal.

"The specifics of the deal will ultimately determine the extent to which consumers are meaningfully protected from electricity costs from large industrial users, but we are heartened by the continued leadership of strong governors throughout the PJM region who see the urgency of sound data center policy, and are willing to negotiate with non-traditional allies to develop solutions," continues Jessi Eidbo.

However, for states that want to move faster, there are meaningful steps that can be taken right now to address rising electricity costs from large load users. States can establish large-load tariffs that offer favorable treatment for large loads that are willing to be reliably flexible for a small number of hours during the year, to prevent spikes in demand that then set the ceiling for price auctions.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.