Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected, in part, PJM Interconnection’s (PJM) compliance filing for Order No. 2023, which mandated interconnection reforms by the country’s transmission operators. The decision comes two days after PJM’s latest capacity auction delivered record-setting prices for consumers across the Mid-Atlantic. In response, Evergreen Action Senior Power Sector Policy Lead Charles Harper released the following statement:
“FERC made the right call—PJM’s so-called interconnection ‘reforms’ just don’t cut it. This week’s sky-high capacity auction made their failures impossible to ignore. When clean energy projects are stalled in a broken queue, it’s customers who get hit with higher bills while PJM member companies rake in record profits. The connection is clear: the longer PJM delays, the more consumers pay.
“We need low-cost, clean power brought online as quickly as possible, but PJM’s outdated and dysfunctional process is still standing in the way. It’s time for PJM to stop dragging its feet and finally comply with FERC’s order to make the deeper interconnection reforms needed to fix its cost crisis. PJM’s delays are the result of a system designed to reward fossil fuel interests that benefit from keeping competition out, and customers have been footing the bill long enough. Today’s decision is further proof: PJM needs to make real reforms, and it needs them now.”
According to recent modeling from Synapse Energy Economics, reforming PJM’s broken approval process, including full compliance with Order No. 2023, would deliver major, tangible benefits across the Mid-Atlantic, including:
- $505 in average household energy savings each year;
- 313,000 additional jobs created each year across the PJM region; and
- 23 percent lower electricity costs for industrial and commercial customers.