Pennsylvania electricity rates will rise again as PJM (the 10-state consortium that runs the electricity grid across) announced results of the coming year’s capacity auction this week. Don’t look for lower electric bills anytime in the next 2 years…budget for your townships accordingly. 

The final price hit a record high for the second year in a row — and impacts electricity bills for about 67 million people across its territory. The auction closed at nearly $330 per megawatt-day, a 22% increase over the $270 per megawatt-day from last year’s auction. $330 per megawatt day was the agreed upon cap from a lawsuit by Governor Shapiro and others, so costs could have been higher.  

This is the highest price it’s ever been,” said Abe Silverman, an energy consultant and research scholar at Johns Hopkins University, who previously worked for NRG Energy, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “The rate of increase is slowing, but it’s still going to be painful for consumers.” The results mean that electricity bills in the PJM region will likely rise between 1.5% and 5% for most ratepayers, depending on how states and utilities pass the costs along to consumers, PJM said. 

This summer’s price increases are from last year’s auction, so the price increases to be felt by this week’s auction will be added on in June of 2026.