Mid-Atlantic grid faces growing strain as new tech and demand collide

By EPN Staff

New technology, fuels and focuses are colliding in the Mid-Atlantic region’s electrical grid as demand for power continues to grow. 

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are seeking to work together across several states to bring down prices and boost reliability.

At an Oct. 28 multi-state policy hearing hosted by the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee, representatives from PJM, the energy industry and consumer groups expressed deep concerns about regional electrical grid reliability. PJM is the largest Regional Transmission Organization in the U.S., serving 65 million people across several states and the District of Columbia.

This was the first of a series of expected interstate meetings designed to harness collective energy towards energy issues.

Why it matters

Families across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia are feeling strain from energy prices. While some governors blame regional utility PJM, other lawmakers say the real pressure comes from regulation. 

With these problems now crossing state lines, lawmakers from all four states want increased cooperation to find solutions to secure affordable, reliable energy for the Mid-Atlantic. This kind of interstate cooperation, the organizers believe, is necessary to address an energy ecosystem that spans several states and regulatory structures.

“Families and businesses across our region are being crushed by skyrocketing utility bills and policies that put political agendas ahead of common sense,” said Pennsylvania Rep. David Rowe (R-Snyder/Union/Mifflin/Juniata), the committee’s chairman.

The bigger picture

The nationwide clean energy push has caused energy production issues as utilities have moved from firm fuel sources such as coal and natural gas to renewables. In the 2020s, that supply-side trouble is running into a series of accelerating demand problems, as well.

Lawmakers pressing for less fossil fuels push more demand onto the grid. New manufacturing centers are driving demand as well, as will the rapid adoption of AI capacity and its necessary data centers.

PJM underscored the issue during the hearing, noting grid load forecasts have increased every year since 2023. Meanwhile, large amounts of coal, gas, and nuclear capacity are being retired from green energy policy pushes at both the state and federal levels. 

The region has renewable energy sources, but they have low-capacity value, which is the ability to produce power during peak demand. Simply put, renewable energy cannot reliably get power where it is needed when it is needed.

Consumers are paying the price. The Consumer Energy Alliance warned that recent PJM capacity auctions saw prices increase as much as tenfold for some zones — costs which will be passed down. Representatives said these costs climb into the billions.

Additional context

Rowe emphasized that Pennsylvania’s Mid-Atlantic region energy issues must be solved in cooperation with other states and called for collaboration across state lines.

“Without Pennsylvania energy, the lights in Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia — they just simply go out,” Rowe said. “If we are not able to meet the demand of new industries, grow Pennsylvania’s energy generation, we are going to be in a very rough spot.”

Other states emphasized Rowe’s point. Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia legislators said state-level green energy mandates shift reliability risks onto neighbors like Pennsylvania, which exports energy to surrounding states.

Lawmakers called for a new consensus in energy policy that makes reliability and affordability central to the process. Included in that push is slowing down premature gas, coal or nuclear plant retirement and streamlining permitting for new firm fuel projects.

Clean energy, they said, is a positive movement. It cannot come at the expense of stability, however.

“Every state wants to lead on clean energy, but someone has to keep the lights on in the meantime,” said New Jersey Rep. Paul Kanitra.