CHICAGO – Today, Governor JB Pritzker alongside a bipartisan group of nine governors from across the country, issued a letter to PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for Northern Illinois, urging the group to implement governance reforms to meet the ongoing energy affordability crisis and ensure power grid reliability for Illinois working families and businesses.
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“Illinois has long been a national energy leader and is committed to delivering clean, reliable, and affordable energy to working families and businesses,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “But PJM undermines our efforts and lacks meaningful accountability to the very states it serves. I’m joining Governors from red and blue states to call for reforms that give states a real seat at the table, ensures transparency, and listens to working families and businesses. PJM must evolve and embrace reforms if it is to remain a credible partner and responsible steward for the region.”
The letter comes amid mounting concerns over PJM’s role in rising electricity costs, reliability challenges, and stalled transmission development—all which impact working families and businesses. The letter demands:
- The appointment of a pair balanced, bipartisan leaders recommended by the states to fill the two open PJM Board seats
- Establishment of a transparent and accountable nomination process
- The dedication the two Board seats to candidates collectively nominated by the states, ensuring transparency in PJM’s decision-making and prioritizing affordability and reliability for consumers
The governors’ letter also includes a shared commitment to collaborate on the formation of a PJM Governors Group to increase engagement and will complement existing interstate efforts and ensure that PJM decisions reflect the evolving needs of states and consumers.
This latest effort builds on Gov. Pritzker’s joint action last October with the governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware, when the group called on PJM to address record-high electricity prices, driven by serious flaws in its capacity auction which resulted in capacity prices nearly ten times higher than the previous year. The governors proposed targeted reforms to reduce costs, protect consumers, and support economic growth across the region.
