Utility Market Updates

PJM Capacity Costs Push Bills Higher for 2026/2027

The PJM capacity market is one of the most influential drivers of retail electricity prices in the country because its effects show up on customer bills across 13 states and Washington, D.C. PJM's most recent capacity auction cleared at $329.17/MW-day, a record level and a 22% increase from the prior auction's already elevated clearing price of $269.92/MW-day. The result reached the maximum price allowed under PJM's current market rules imposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after the extreme 800% increase last year in the 2025/2026 capacity market.

This drastic increase is in large part due to growing electricity demand from data centers, as well as population growth, electrification efforts, supply constraints, and the slow replacement of retired energy plants.

PJM estimates the average retail bill impact could range from approximately 1.5% to 5%, though impacts vary significantly by customer class and utility territory. Commercial and industrial customers with demand-based exposure may experience substantially larger increases.

The Data Center Cost-Shifting Debate Is Becoming a Utility Rate Issue

As data center development continues in the PJM territory and across the country, the debate on who faces the cost burden continues. Much of that debate has focused on residential and small business customers subsidizing the infrastructure for these data centers; however, Portland General Electric recently implemented Schedule 96, a rate schedule specifically designed for data centers or large-load customers with loads greater than 20 MW.

This model shifts much of the cost burden away from the residential, commercial, and industrial customers, which is evident in the decreases to these customer classes:

Our ETB Developer rate schedules reflect these rate changes for Portland General Electric, and we’ll continue to track rate changes like these in other territories as well.

Peninsula Clean Energy Becomes WestLight Energy

California community choice energy provider Peninsula Clean Energy has officially rebranded as WestLight Energy. The name change took effect July 1, 2026, with customers beginning to see the WestLight Energy name on their utility bills later in July. While the branding has changed, customer rates, service, and programs remain the same.

ETB Developer users who search for the utility will see it is now called “WestLight Energy (Formally Peninsula Clean Energy).”

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