Our modern way of life relies on the electric grid, from the moment we wake up until we switch the lights off at night. But we don’t think much about it until the lights flicker during a storm or the power cuts out during a Steelers game.
But all is not well with what some have called the most complex machine in the world.
Think of the electric grid as a favorite sweater, wearable but with a few loose threads. With a little careful work and attention, it will continue to provide the comfort and security we need. Instead, government policy makers are pulling at those loose threads, threatening to unravel the entire network.
PJM Interconnection operates the electric grid in Pennsylvania and 12 other states, covering 65 million people and 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). It acts as a kind of air traffic control for electricity. On a moment- by-moment basis, it looks at how much electricity is needed, where it can be produced, and ensures there are enough electrons on the right wires to get where they need to go so your local utility can deliver it to your door.
Have you ever turned on your A/C and your lights dim for a moment? That’s because somewhere in the system — in your house, in your neighborhood, in your region — there’s not enough electricity to meet the demand. It’s PJM’s job to exactly match supply and demand at every second of every day.
PJM is warning that things are out of whack. We are demanding more and more electricity for both massive projects like data centers and everyday items, like new electric vehicles (EVs). At the same time, government policies are trying to reduce carbon emissions by shutting down generating plants that use coal or natural gas.
That combination is “nearly certain” to lead to a supply shortage by 2030, if not sooner, according to PJM. “The math is not good,” PJM said in a fact sheet prepared for policymakers.
Most of the PJM states don’t produce enough electricity for their own residents, and they rely on a handful of exporting states to keep the lights on. At the same time, those states are pushing for increasing amounts of renewable energy. New Jersey, for example, will require 50 percent of the electricity sold in the state to come from renewable sources, mostly wind, solar or hydro, by 2030. Carbon-free nuclear doesn’t count.
But NJ only makes about 2 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, and it doesn’t produce enough to power its homes and businesses already. In so many states, lawmakers are counting on some folks somewhere in neighboring states building something to keep the lights on.
Pennsylvania, the “P” in PJM, is literally the keystone that makes the PJM grid work. It is the country’s largest exporter of electricity. Its contribution to the grid in 2023, for instance, covered the combined shortfalls in Virginia, Ohio and Maryland.
Governor Shapiro has proposed sweeping new energy legislation that would reshape Pennsylvania’s power generation sector. The proposals could disrupt PJM operations in two ways:
- Charging a tax on Pennsylvania’s fossil fuel plants based on their generation, making them more expensive to operate.
- Requiring the sale of far more wind, solar and other alternative-energy generated power to Pennsylvania customers. Windmills currently account for about 1.5 percent of the state’s electricity production, while solar is just one- tenth of 1 percent.
Consumers will already start to see rate hikes this year because of the growing imbalance of supply and demand. We need to ensure the government policies don’t continue to make the situation worse.
Ken Zapinski is the director of Research & Public Policy for Pittsburgh Works Together, a western Pennsylvania-based nonprofit organization and cooperative venture of energy and labor that is committed to an economic future that supports the region’s foundational industries including manufacturing, steel and energy. For more information, visit pghworks.com.