PJM warns Maryland faces power shortfalls as retirements, rising demand and market changes collide

Jason Shannon, a PJM representative, told the Economic Matters Committee that “the energy outlook in the state of Maryland is dire,” and outlined a combination of retiring plants, rapid demand growth and market-rule changes that together are increasing the risk of power shortfalls and higher bills for Maryland ratepayers.

Shannon said PJM — the regional transmission operator that plans the grid and runs regional electricity and capacity markets for 13 states and the District of Columbia — has approved large volumes of new projects but many have not been built. “We approved over 70,000 megawatts of projects” by Dec. 31, 2024, he said, and PJM has cleared about 50,000 megawatts from its interconnection queue, but state permitting, supply-chain and financing issues are keeping projects from being constructed.

The briefing explained why the gap matters. PJM said Maryland is a net energy importer that gets roughly 40% of its energy from neighboring states, and it has lost about 6,000 megawatts of generation since 2018 while adding only about 1,600 megawatts. Shannon warned that planned retirements such as Brandon Shores and Wagner will remove another roughly 1,800 megawatts of capacity unless replacement resources…