Wholesale power prices on the largest electric grid in the United States jumped 76% in the first quarter due to soaring demand from data centers.
The total cost of wholesale power on the 13-state grid managed by PJM Interconnection averaged $136.53 per megawatt-hour in the first three months of the year, according to a report from Monitoring Analytics, the grid’s independent market monitor. That compares to $77.78 per megawatt-hour during the same period in 2025.
The report said data center load included in the last two PJM capacity auctions increased customers’ bills by $13.8 billion. “The price impacts will be even larger in the near term unless the issues associated with data center load are addressed in a timely manner.”
The figures from Monitoring Analytics showed capacity costs, which ensure the grid has enough supply during periods of highest demand, jumping by almost 400% in the first three months of 2026 compared to last year.
PJM serves 67 million people across eastern states from New Jersey to Illinois, where a large concentration of data centers in the United States are located.ore US Midterms
The higher prices in the PJM auctions are filtering through to consumers. ComEd, a unit of Exelon Corp and the largest energy utility in Illinois, on Thursday blamed surging supply costs on the PJM grid for rising customer bills. “As the demand for power continues to increase, generation companies and grid operators must step up to increase capacity that will be needed to maintain grid reliability and keep energy supply costs affordable for customers across the PJM zone,” said Gil Quiniones, chief executive officer of ComEd. The company said the average residential customer bill would increase between $2 to $3 per month, as a result of a PJM capacity auction held last year.
The chances for a speedy remedy are just about nil. Earlier this week, Laura Swett, who oversees the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said PJM wasn’t responding sufficiently to the problems the grid is facing, arguing it had potentially “grown too big to function.” She announced a conference on July 23 in Washington to discuss possible reforms.
Oh, good, we’ll study the problem.
Consumers are now facing higher gasoline prices, higher health insurance premiums, and high electric bills.
Average demand in the first three months of 2026 increased by 3.1% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to the data from Monitoring Analytics. Generation from natural gas units, the primary energy source in PJM, increased by 4.2%, while generation from solar units increased by 15%.
Photo by Fré Sonneveld on Unsplash.
