Wes Moore Blasts PJM Over Maryland Power Prices at 22.4 Cents per kWh

3 articles · Updated · Reason · May 15

Baltimore became the stage for Gov. Wes Moore to accuse PJM at its annual meeting of failing ratepayers as Maryland residential electricity prices hit 22.4 cents per kilowatt-hour.
That rate is 24% above the national average and 6.4% higher than a year earlier, amid broader U.S. price pressure from grid upgrades, natural-gas swings, supply-chain constraints and demand outpacing supply.
PJM rejected Moore's criticism, saying its interconnection problems are being fixed after a 2022 overhaul that shifted to a cluster process and produced 811 new generation projects in its first cycle this year.
Maryland has also pursued its own interventions, including a Utility RELIEF Act with $100 million in bill credits and another $100 million for renewable-energy auctions, even as critics say such mandates and subsidies can raise costs.
The dispute points to a wider regional fight over who is responsible for higher power bills, with transmission expansion still slowed by legal and regulatory hurdles such as the Piedmont Reliability Project, which may not be decided until 2027.

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