Trump and mid-Atlantic governors want tech companies to pay for new power plants

The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of conservatives are pressuring PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. electricity market, to hold an energy auction aimed at spurring massive construction of new power plants.

PJM operates the largest electric grid in the United States, spanning 13 states across the United States Midwest and Atlantic Ocean It includes a concentration of data centers in Virginia. All state governors, including Democrats Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) and Wes Moore (D-Maryland), signed the agreement. statement Released today with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. CNN notesHowever, neither the White House nor state governors can authorize the auction. and Bloomberg Reports That PJM was not invited to the announcement made today.

Department of Energy (DOE) He says Data centers must “pay more for new generation than for residential customers.” Specifically, PJM calls for new infrastructure costs to be allocated to data centers unless they turn on their own power plants or agree to curtail their energy use during a supply crunch. The auction could generate $15 billion in new power generation, according to the Department of Energy.

While the Trump administration pushed for a return Coal, gasand Nuclear power plants in the United States, and at the same time worked to discourage the construction of power plants winds and Solar Farms that have become Fastest growing sources New electricity in recent years.