Overview
- The 2028/2029 Base Residual Auction cleared at the FERC‑approved cap of $325 per megawatt‑day, yielding $16.4 billion in cleared capacity and securing 138,318 MW of unforced capacity, a result released Tuesday.
- Despite the procurement, PJM is short roughly 6,831 MW of the capacity it says is required to meet the one‑in‑10‑year reliability standard, meaning the grid will hold slimmer reserves and face greater risk during extreme demand.
- Monitoring Analytics and PJM officials identify rapid data center build‑out as the main driver of rising demand, with the market monitor estimating data centers accounted for about $6.3 billion of this auction’s cost.
- Higher capacity prices are already reaching consumers through retail bills, with state advocates estimating Pennsylvania households have paid an extra $220 to $320 a year during recent auction cycles.
- PJM plans to ask FERC in the coming weeks to approve a September Reliability Backstop procurement and to advance faster interconnection tracks, Connect‑and‑Manage rules and long‑term bilateral contracts to shift who pays for new load.