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PJM falls short in power auction amid data center demand surge
PJM said its June 2028 power procurement auction came up 6.8 gigawatts short of capacity needed to keep the grid reliable during demand spikes.
PJM Interconnection, the Regional Transmission Organization that serves 67 million customers across 13 states and Washington, DC, failed for a third straight year to secure enough future supply commitments to ensure reliability as data center demand grows, OilPrice reports. In a statement Tuesday, PJM said its auction to procure power for the year starting June 2028 fell 6.8 gigawatts short of what it will need during peak demand periods.
The shortfall is equivalent to almost seven traditional nuclear reactors, according to the outlet. PJM’s struggle is drawing attention as Virginia’s Data Center Alley concentrates many facilities, and PJM has faced criticism for managing the AI-driven power boom while protecting customers from higher costs.
PJM said it is turning to an emergency procurement mechanism later this year that is intended to shift more of the burden of ramping up power generation to hyperscalers, OilPrice reported. The grid operator also announced results of its 2028/2029 Base Residual Auction, which secured 138,318 MW of unforced capacity generation and demand response.
PJM said Regions under the Fixed Resource Requirement (FRR) acquired an additional 10,864 MW of UCAP, bringing total UCAP available to serve more than 67 million people across the PJM footprint, the outlet added.