Technology & Science
White House–Governor Bloc Pressures PJM for 15-Year ‘Data-Center Pays’ Auction, PJM Counters With Backstop Reliability Plan
On 16 Jan 2026, a bipartisan group of 13 governors and two cabinet secretaries formally demanded the PJM grid run an emergency 15-year capacity auction forcing tech firms to finance new plants, and within hours PJM issued its own reliability blueprint that omits the requested long-term auction.
Focusing Facts
- Letter signed 16 Jan 2026 by governors of all 13 PJM states plus Energy Sec. Chris Wright and Interior Sec. Doug Burgum urges PJM to hold an emergency auction letting data-center operators bid for 15-year contracts worth ≈$15 billion to add ~7.5 GW of generation.
- PJM’s 14-page proposal released the same day launches an ‘immediate initiation’ of backstop generation procurement and requires new large loads to bring their own supply or face early curtailment, but leaves the 15-year auction and price-cap extension undecided.
- PJM now projects electricity demand on its system to grow 4.8 % annually for the next decade—roughly 25 % above 2023 levels—largely from AI-driven data centers in Northern Virginia.
Context
The standoff echoes California’s 2000–01 power crunch, when deregulated markets, surging tech demand and slow plant approvals produced rolling blackouts and political turmoil; it also recalls the 1930s TVA buildout, when the federal government stepped in to force-finance generation for a new industrial era. Today’s flashpoint exposes two long-term forces: (1) digital-economy loads can materialise in 18 months, while new thermal or nuclear capacity still takes 5–10 years, and (2) U.S. regional grids were designed for slow demand growth and are now navigating simultaneous decarbonisation and re-industrialisation. Whether PJM adopts the 15-year auction or not, this moment could mark a structural shift in who pays for incremental electrons—big-tech balance sheets instead of ratepayers—and may trigger a new cycle of capital expenditure, governance reform, and perhaps a re-centralisation of grid planning whose consequences will echo for decades, much as rural electrification did after 1935.
Perspectives
Progressive or left-leaning outlets
The Independent, Democratic Underground, Newser — Warn that AI-driven data-centers are overwhelming PJM’s grid, foreshadowing deadly rolling blackouts and soaring household bills unless regulators curb Big Tech’s power use. Stories dwell on worst-case blackout scenarios and cast tech firms as villains, which helps build public support for aggressive regulation but sometimes leans on dramatic language drawn largely from a single Wall Street Journal report.
Business & right-of-center media praising the Trump plan
Boston Herald, Investopedia, Financial Post, Bloomberg Law — Portray the White House–governors initiative for a 15-year emergency power auction as the pragmatic fix that will let data-center growth fuel an AI arms race while shielding consumers by making tech giants bankroll new power plants. Coverage highlights market opportunities and national-security stakes, glossing over environmental impacts and treating Trump’s proposal as inevitability, reflecting a pro-business, pro-fossil-fuel framing.
Regional/state-focused news outlets
WENY, 6abc Action News — Center on governors like Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro pressuring PJM to cap prices and accelerate generation, stressing local consumer pain and the need for data-centers to shoulder rising costs. Reporting amplifies home-state leaders’ grievances and successes, potentially overstating the leverage of state letters and lawsuits in a federally regulated market.