Americans often take for granted that when we flip a switch, the lights turn on.
But behind that simple act is one of the most complex machines ever built — the electric grid. In the eastern United States, PJM Interconnection is the grid operator that coordinates electricity for 65 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia. PJM’s mission is clear: keep the power flowing reliably and affordably. But today, that mission is being jeopardized by political interference.
Several governors within the PJM footprint are attempting to alter its governance, blaming PJM for higher electricity costs instead of acknowledging the consequences of their own state energy policies. Maryland and New Jersey, for example, are pushing for changes to PJM’s Board of Managers, while governors in Pennsylvania and Virginia are trying to force political nominees onto PJM’s governing body. But PJM is not a government agency. Allowing politicians to dictate who serves on the PJM board would fundamentally change how the grid operates and inject politics into decisions that must remain firmly apolitical.
For decades, the electric grid has been governed by organizations like PJM that prioritize reliability, engineering, and market economics, not political agendas. When politics takes priority, reliability becomes the first casualty.
This has been evident in many of the same states that have criticized PJM. These states have adopted policies that undercut electric reliability, including the premature shutdown of reliable power sources like coal and nuclear plants, the establishment of unrealistic renewable mandates, and the failure to require new industrial loads like data centers to secure sufficient generation resources. The result is a tighter market, rising costs, and growing threats to reliability. These state-level mistakes were compounded by federal policies under the Biden administration that accelerated baseload plant closures and weakened the resilience of the grid.
Take New Jersey, for example. Since 2017, the state has retired 2,500 megawatts of reliable power plants, including coal and nuclear. Offshore wind projects meant to replace that capacity have collapsed, forcing New Jersey to import roughly 35 percent of its electricity while residents’ bills soar by 20 percent. Maryland has followed a similar path, closing 16 coal plants in just over a decade. The state now imports 40 percent of its electricity and is blocking a critical transmission project that would improve reliability throughout the region.
Instead of accepting responsibility for their reckless policy decisions, these governors are blaming PJM and even threatening lawsuits. Lawsuits, however, won’t keep the lights on. Nor will state policies that attempt to micromanage PJM’s wholesale markets or impose artificial price caps. These short-sighted measures only discourage investment in new, reliable generation.
PJM’s most recent capacity auction, designed to ensure there are enough power plants to meet future demand, fell short of its reserve reliability target for the first time. Demand is expected to continue rising, which could lead to shortfalls as early as 2026 and 2027, driven largely by data center growth. Meanwhile, reliable power plants continue to be retired faster than they can be replaced. This is a dangerous recipe for rolling blackouts.
PJM is sounding the alarm on the need to keep existing resources, like coal, online longer, and is also prioritizing reliable, always-available projects like natural gas and nuclear. But states must do their part. They control siting, permitting, and the integration of new loads. Some states, like Kentucky, are ensuring utilities maintain “steel in the ground” — the dispatchable power plants capable of meeting customer needs at any hour.
Others, however, are simply leaning on PJM’s wholesale market while refusing to expedite the permitting and build-out of the resources needed to keep the system operating.
PJM’s customers cannot afford for it to become a political football. If governors are allowed to bend PJM’s governance to their whims, the consequences will ripple across the 13-state region. Politicizing PJM will not build a single new power plant, nor will it lower prices. It will only erode investor confidence and jeopardize the market principles that have delivered reliability for decades.
Coal and other dispatchable resources should not be viewed as obstacles to the energy transition. They are the bridge that ensures reliability until other resources can provide the 24/7 power needed to sustain our economy. Europe’s recent blackout in Portugal and Spain is a stark warning: When policymakers ignore reliability, grids fail. The United States cannot afford to follow that path.
A reliable grid is the foundation of our national security, economic strength, and technological leadership. To protect it, PJM’s governance must remain independent and free from political manipulation so that it can correctly value always-on, dispatchable resources. And states must step up to secure sufficient generation within their borders.
Because when the lights go out, politics won’t matter — reliability will.
