This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. Independent power producers and the PJM Interconnection’s market monitor are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject a waiver request from American Electric Power utilities that would allow them to sell up to 750 MW in an upcoming “incremental” capacity auction. It appears the utilities — Appalachian Power, Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power and ...

Core Insights - Capacity prices in PJM's recent capacity auctions have surged, leading to double-digit electric bill increases for utility customers in the region [3][4] - The increase in capacity auction revenue is primarily driven by load from data centers, which has raised concerns about the reliability of load forecasts [5][8] Group 1: Capacity Auctions - PJM conducts capacity auctions to ensure adequate power supplies for future needs, with the latest auction covering a one-year period starting June 1 [4] - The next capacity auction is scheduled for early December, aimed at securing capacity for the year beginning June 1, 2027 [4] Group 2: Data Center Impact - Data center load contributed to a significant revenue increase in the last capacity auction, with total revenue rising by $7.3 billion, or 82%, to $16.1 billion [8] - The combined revenue from the last two capacity auctions reached $30.8 billion, with data center load accounting for about half of this total [8] Group 3: Regulatory Considerations - Monitoring Analytics has suggested that new data centers should generate their own power instead of relying on existing supplies, to mitigate the impact of uncertain load forecasts on other customers [6] - PJM is currently developing new rules for integrating large data centers into its system, with a proposal expected to be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by year-end [7]