PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization managing electricity for roughly 65 million people across the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, has failed to meet its capacity auction target for the 2027/2028 delivery year. That’s a first in the market’s history, and the gap is not small.
The shortfall clocks in at 6,517 megawatts of unforced capacity. To put that in terms most people can picture: that’s roughly the output of seven large nuclear reactors, operating simultaneously, that simply aren’t there.
What the auction numbers actually say
PJM’s capacity market exists so the grid can guarantee it will have enough power supply lined up years in advance. Think of it as a reservation system for electricity. Generators bid in, win contracts, and promise to be available when demand peaks.
For the 2027/2028 delivery year, PJM procured 145,777.1 MW of unforced capacity. The problem is it still represents a clearing rate of 14.4% against a target of 20%, a miss of 5.6 percentage points.
