ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore is calling on Maryland’s grid operator, PJM Interconnection LLC, to adjust its capacity market rules and prevent unnecessary hikes in electricity costs for Marylanders.
In a letter sent to the PJM Board of Managers last week, the governor reiterated long-expressed concerns about rising energy costs for both residential and commercial customers in Maryland, urging PJM to lower the price cap ahead of its 2026/2027 capacity auction, which is now delayed until June.
"At a moment when Marylanders are feeling the squeeze of high prices, we are working with our allies across the region to help keep costs down," said Gov. Moore. "Maryland has long called on PJM to bring new clean energy resources onto the system quickly to ensure the reliability and resilience of the electric grid, in service of connecting Marylanders with affordable energy. We are respectfully asking that PJM take additional action consistent with our energy laws and policies and in the best interest of our constituents—especially in the midst of rising costs nationwide."
The capacity market is intended to ensure that enough electricity is available to meet demand. Through a competitive auction process, power suppliers bid to provide capacity for future years. The results of the 2025/2026 auction cleared record-high prices, driven in part by a lack of new generation to meet growing electricity demand and decommissioning energy assets. In 2022, PJM implemented a “freeze” of the interconnection queue, preventing new generation projects from coming online until a reform process to clear its backlog of projects is complete.
Last week, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission against PJM, citing flaws in the capacity auction design that threaten to impose significant new price increases. In the complaint, Pennsylvania requests a temporary modification to the auction price cap until reforms are implemented to add new generation to the grid. Governor Moore’s letter expresses support for Pennsylvania’s action, aligning concerns about affordability, in addition to citing the need to ensure reliability and promote capacity.
Governor Moore also partnered with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, former Delaware Governor Bethany A. Hall-Long, and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in sending a
multi-state letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in support of Pennsylvania’s complaint, requesting temporary modification to the price cap to ensure that prices do not reach unjust and unreasonable levels. The change would also allow time for the market to adjust to PJM’s amended rules and provide time to address the backlog in its interconnection queue.
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