PJM Interconnection
The largest RTO in North America, covering 13 states and DC from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic.
About PJM
PJM Interconnection coordinates wholesale electricity across 13 states and DC, serving 65 million people — the largest RTO in the US. The 2026/27 capacity auction cleared at a record $329.17/MW-day, driven by data center demand. FERC's December 2025 colocation ruling is reshaping how data centers connect to generators within PJM. Dominion Virginia alone has 70,000 MW of DC load requests in queue.
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Capacity Market & Auctions
Base Residual Auctions, capacity pricing, and the reliability pricing model. The 2026/27 auction cleared at a record $329.17/MW-day. PJM filed its Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT) with FERC in Feb 2026 — 10 fast-track slots per year for 250 MW+ data center projects. A reliability backstop procurement auction is planned for later in 2026, with costs potentially allocated directly to large data center loads.
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Data Center Load Growth
Northern Virginia remains a major center of data center demand. New large-load interconnection rules, Dominion Energy's generation plans, and hyperscaler queue positions remain central issues.
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Interconnection Queue Reform
PJM queue: 70,000 MW of large-load (data center) requests from Dominion alone. FERC denied the market monitor's bid to let PJM reject large DC loads. The December 2025 FERC colocation ruling created new behind-the-meter rules for data centers co-located with generators. PJM compliance filings due through spring 2026.
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Transmission Planning
RTEP (Regional Transmission Expansion Plan), offshore wind interconnection, and cross-border coordination. Billions in new transmission investment.
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Coal & Gas Retirements
Accelerating coal plant retirements. Gas plant economics. Replacement generation planning and the capacity gap risk.
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Renewable Integration
Offshore wind from New Jersey and Virginia. Solar growth across the footprint. Storage deployment and the shift in generation mix.