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The U.S. Department of Energy filed a statement supporting FERC guidance for PJM’s proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement. DOE backs revised rules on cost allocation, demand transparency and the responsibility of large electricity users to pay for generation and infrastructure serving them. The precise terms and timing of PJM’s revisions remain unclear.
The U.S. Department of Energy has filed a statement backing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s recommendations for PJM’s proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement, supporting changes to how the regional grid operator allocates costs and accounts for electricity demand. DOE says the reforms should protect households and businesses from paying for generation and infrastructure needed to serve large electricity users.
DOE filed a Notice of Intervention and Statement of Position with FERC in support of the commission’s guidance. FERC recommends that PJM submit revised tariff provisions covering appropriate cost allocation and other reforms. The source does not provide the filing date, the full text of the recommendations or a deadline for PJM’s response.
DOE says the proposed procurement should use accurate, transparent demand information and require large loads to pay for the new generation and infrastructure needed to serve them. The department also supports allowing large electricity users to build, bring or buy the capacity required for their demand. Those positions are DOE’s stated priorities; the material does not establish that PJM has adopted them or that customers’ bills will fall.
The department urged PJM to comply promptly with FERC’s order and adopt durable market reforms. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Deputy Secretary James P. Danly presented the filing as part of the administration’s effort to address reliability concerns while limiting cost shifts to existing customers.
Who Pays for New PJM Power
The dispute concerns how the costs of securing enough electricity are distributed across PJM’s region. If new generation or grid infrastructure is needed to serve growing large loads, the rules could determine whether those costs fall primarily on the users driving the need or are shared with households and other businesses. DOE’s filing supports assigning costs to large users, but the final allocation depends on the commission’s process and any revised PJM tariff.
The issue also links electricity affordability with grid reliability. Procurement rules can affect incentives to add capacity and the costs paid by customers, but the source does not quantify potential savings, identify affected projects or predict how any changes would alter bills. FERC’s recommendations are not evidence that lower rates or improved reliability have already been achieved.
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January Push for PJM Reforms
The filing follows an administration initiative in January 2026, when the Trump administration called on PJM to adopt market rules intended to strengthen reliability and reduce electricity costs. According to DOE, the administration asked PJM to hold an emergency power auction and accelerate development of reliable generation. Governors from all 13 states participating in PJM joined the administration in issuing a Statement of Principles to the grid operator.
DOE says FERC’s recommendations align with President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which the department describes as requiring large electricity users to pay for the generation and infrastructure needed to serve them. That is the administration’s policy framing. The source does not detail the pledge’s legal status or explain how its aims would be incorporated into binding market rules.
“By increasing transparency and preventing unjust cost shifts onto existing customers, the proposed reforms advance President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge.”
— U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly
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Tariff Details Still Pending
The source does not specify what revised tariff language FERC will require, how costs would be assigned under any final rules, or when PJM must submit changes. It also does not say whether PJM agrees with DOE’s position or how large loads would demonstrate that they have secured the capacity needed to serve them.
The likely effect on customer bills, the amount of generation involved and the schedule for any procurement are also not stated. DOE and administration officials describe the reforms as a way to reduce costs and protect reliability, but those are expected aims rather than confirmed outcomes.
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PJM’s Response to FERC
The next step described by DOE is for PJM to respond to FERC’s recommendations by submitting revised tariff provisions and addressing cost allocation and other reforms. DOE has urged the grid operator to act promptly, but the source gives no formal response date or procurement schedule.
Further details will be needed to assess how the rules would work in practice: which loads would be covered, how demand would be measured, what costs would be assigned to them and whether an emergency auction or accelerated generation development will proceed. Until those terms and the regulatory outcome are clear, the effect on reliability and electricity costs remains uncertain.
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Key Questions
What action did the Energy Department take?
DOE filed a Notice of Intervention and Statement of Position with FERC supporting recommendations for revisions to PJM’s proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement.
What changes does DOE support?
DOE supports revised cost allocation, transparent and accurate demand information, and rules under which large electricity users pay for the generation and infrastructure needed to serve them. It also says large loads should be able to build, bring or buy required capacity.
Will the proposal lower electricity bills?
DOE says the reforms are intended to lower costs and protect customers from subsidizing large loads. The source provides no estimate of savings and does not establish that bills will fall.
What happens next?
PJM is being urged to submit revised tariff provisions addressing FERC’s recommendations. The source does not give a deadline, a PJM response or a confirmed schedule for procurement.
Source: primary
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