PJM’s Plan Confirms the Problem Markets Alone Can’t Solve

PJM’s new decisional letter on large load additions confirms what recent capacity auction results already showed: market signals alone are not delivering enough new generation to meet rapidly growing demand. For the first time, PJM cleared short of its reliability requirement. 

In response, PJM is turning to out-of-market solutions, including reliability backstop procurement, “bring your own generation” options, and expedited interconnection. These steps may be framed as temporary, but they reflect a simple reality: when reliability is at risk, the market isn’t moving fast enough.

This is a challenge largely avoided in regulated markets, where long-term planning and investment certainty support timely generation buildout. That certainty is why regulated states continue to attract data centers and advanced manufacturing that depend on reliable, predictable power.

Read PJM’s full decisional letter here: https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/about-pjm/who-we-are/public-disclosures/2026/20260116-pjm-board-letter-re-results-of-the-cifp-process-large-load-additions.pdf