Outside the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday, Maryland advocates and lawmakers protested what they say is a growing burden from the regional electricity market on residents already facing steep utility costs.
Their rally coincided with a full day of federal review of PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for multiple states whose market rules have an outsized effect on monthly electric bills.
What's happening?
The debate centers on PJM Interconnection, which runs both the grid and the wholesale electricity market across much of the Mid-Atlantic and neighboring regions. At the FERC gathering, Maryland officials said states should play a larger role in PJM's decision-making, according to Maryland Matters.
Calls for change intensified after PJM's 2024 auction sent the market's clearing price to about eight times what it had been a year earlier. Forecasts for power-hungry data centers helped drive that increase, which then flowed through to consumer bills.
Maryland customers were among those expected to feel the impact, and BGE ratepayers were forecast to see the biggest bump: roughly $21 more each month in 2025.
With residents complaining about stubbornly high energy bills, Gov. Wes Moore and other Maryland leaders have kept up their push for changes. FERC officials inside the crowded conference signaled support for steps aimed at clearer processes, quicker decisions and lower costs.
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Why does it matter?
When wholesale auction prices surge, utilities typically pass those costs on to customers. That can leave households paying more even if their own energy use has changed little, worsening affordability challenges for renters, homeowners, and small businesses alike.
The issue reflects a broader tension in the energy transition. Electricity demand is rising, including from large facilities such as data centers, while grid operators are under pressure to maintain reliability, connect new energy sources quickly, and keep prices from spiraling.
Maryland lawmakers and advocates say that balance is not working well enough. Sen. Katie Fry Hester, a Democrat representing Howard and Montgomery counties, captured that frustration by saying, "PJM has lost sight of who its customers are."
What's being done?
Pressure on PJM is coming from beyond Maryland as well. After the 2024 auction, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sued the grid operator, a move Moore endorsed, according to Maryland Matters.
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A January 2025 settlement later put a ceiling on auction prices. That limit has been extended several times, and estimated consumer savings run into the tens of billions.
Maryland officials and advocates are also seeking longer-term governance changes at PJM, arguing that states should have more influence over how the organization is run. Their broader goal is a market structure they say answers more to ratepayers than to participating companies.
Decisions made by grid operators and federal regulators can directly shape monthly budgets, which is why state officials are pressing for reforms intended to prevent future bill shocks.
As Hester put it at the rally, "Every decision they make affects the 67 million ratepayers, yet PJM's governance is primarily accountable to its market participants."
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