Governor Shapiro’s Legal Action Again Prevents Price Hike Across 13 States | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, PA - Today, Governor Josh Shapiro announced that the extension of his settlement with PJM Interconnection - which has already saved consumers $18.2 billion - has once again protected consumers from unnecessary and unjustified energy costs, saving consumers an additional $13.3 billion in the 2028-29 capacity year.

The settlement reached in January 2025 required PJM to cap the price of securing electricity resources at $333 per Megawatt-Day for two capacity auctions. In April 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved an extension of the price cap at $325 per Megawatt-Day for two additional auctions, including the July 2026 auction that just concluded.

Without the price cap, Pennsylvania consumers and consumers across PJM's 13-state region could have been exposed to prices exceeding $554 per Megawatt-Day - without corresponding reliability improvements to justify the increased cost. As a result of Governor Shapiro's action, Pennsylvania homes and businesses will save over $2 billion in the 2028-29 delivery year. This represents average savings of 9 percent on consumers' electricity bills, or approximately $207 per household in the 2028-29 delivery year alone.

"For more than two years, I've been leading the push for the fundamental changes at PJM that are needed to ensure Pennsylvanians are not forced to pay more and more for electricity without seeing meaningful improvements in reliability," said Governor Shapiro. "I sued PJM when they refused to act and secured a price cap that has saved consumers billions of dollars in unnecessary energy costs. But we cannot stop there - today's auction results are a reminder that PJM's broken system requires real reform. PJM must move faster to bring new energy resources online, strengthen transparency and accountability, and ensure decisions are made in the best interest of the 67 million people who rely on this grid - not just PJM's members."

Today's auction results further underscore the need for PJM reform. Despite nearly every available megawatt of energy clearing the auction, PJM still fell short of its reliability requirement by more than 6.8 gigawatts. In December 2025, PJM also fell short of its reliability requirement for the 2027-28 delivery year by 6.5 gigawatts, demonstrating that high-capacity prices alone are not solving the region's reliability challenges.

These challenges are driven in part by growing energy demand while PJM has struggled to bring new energy resources online quickly enough. Resources continue to face significant delays in PJM's interconnection queue, preventing needed generation from coming online and increasing pressure on consumers.

Governor Shapiro and his Administration are continuing to push for PJM governance reform to ensure states have a stronger voice in regional energy decisions and that PJM acts in the best interests of the 67 million people it serves.

Last week, the Governor signed improved electric load forecasting provisions into law, giving the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission expanded authority to review and validate the load forecasts utilities submit to PJM, building on similar legislation he signed in November 2025. The reforms increase transparency, prevent double-counting of new large energy users like data centers, and protect consumers from price hikes driven by inaccurate projections.

To address the ongoing issues with PJM governance, FERC is holding a technical conference on July 23. This is an important opportunity to improve state involvement in PJM's decision-making processes and ensure PJM acts in the best interests of the region. Governance reform is crucial to ensure solutions to the region's affordability and reliability issues can be determined and implemented in a timely manner.

For years, Governor Shapiro has led the fight to stop rising electricity costs from being passed on to consumers and to get more power onto the grid faster, including:

• Throughout 2024, the Governor repeatedly urged PJM to modernize its rules, cut red tape, speed up its stalled interconnection queue, reform its capacity market, and improve reliability during extreme weather. When PJM continued to delay new generation while driving up prices, Governor Shapiro escalated his efforts.
  
• In December 2024, the Governor sued PJM, warning that its flawed auction design would saddle consumers with billions in unnecessary costs. That lawsuit led to a landmark settlement in January 2025 - later approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - that significantly lowered PJM's capacity price cap.
  
• The results were immediate. PJM's July 2025 auction under the new rules reduced costs by $8.3 billion compared to what consumers would have paid without the Governor's intervention. A second auction in December 2025 averted another unprecedented spike in energy prices, saving consumers $9.9 billion.
  
• Then, 13 PJM governors and the federal government issued a historic Statement of Principles in January 2026 calling for affordability, reliability, and meaningful market reform. This included a call for PJM to extend the price cap for an additional two years.
  
• Building on that momentum, in February 2026, Governor Shapiro announced that PJM would extend its existing price cap for another two years - until 2030 - a major win for consumers. Governor Shapiro continues to push PJM to provide long-term support for new energy projects, make sure that data centers pay their fair share, and speed up PJM's stalled interconnection queue.

The Governor has also taken action at home to strengthen oversight and protect ratepayers:

• In April, he sent a letter to utility CEOs laying out three principles utilities must adhere to in their rare cases to earn his Administration's support. These principles will help ensure utilities aren't charging Pennsylvanians any more than necessary to deliver reliable service.
  
• That same month, Governor Shapiro successfully demanded that PECO withdraw its latest rate case, saving 1.7 million Pennsylvanians $510 million on their energy bills.
  
• In May, the Governor released his full GRID Standards, establishing clear guardrails and accountability standards for data center development in Pennsylvania. Developed with input from local leaders, organized labor, industry, and environmental stakeholders, the GRID Standards outline specific steps data center developers must take to demonstrate that proposed projects provide real value to local communities, mitigate or offset any impacts on Pennsylvanians, and are being developed responsibly.
  

Governor Shapiro has made clear that protecting consumers and building new energy supply must go hand in hand:

• Through his proposed Lightning Plan and the PA Permit Fast Track Program, the Governor is focused on cutting permitting delays, accelerating responsible energy development, and positioning Pennsylvania - the nation's second-largest energy producer and exporter - to build more power faster while keeping costs down.
  
• Independent analyses confirm these efforts will save consumers money, create jobs, and attract billions in new energy investment.