TRENTON – The Senate Economic Growth Committee today advanced Senator Brian P. Stack’s Resolution SR-133, a measure urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject the results of PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s 2025/2026 Reliability Pricing Model Base Residual Auction (BRA) and to mandate a rebid of the auction. The resolution underscores growing concerns over the affordability and integrity of electricity pricing in New Jersey and across the PJM region.
The resolution responds to PJM’s July 2024 auction, which produced a capacity price nearly ten times higher than the previous year, sparking immediate alarm from regulators and independent monitors. As of June 2025, those auction results are now poised to drive significant electricity rate hikes across New Jersey, with average monthly bills expected to rise by 17 to 20 percent for most households and small businesses.
PJM Interconnection is the regional transmission organization that oversees electric grid reliability and coordinates electricity distribution across 13 states and the District of Columbia, including New Jersey. Its Reliability Pricing Model is designed to ensure sufficient electricity supply and grid stability through a competitive capacity auction held three years before the power is needed.
However, the July 2024 auction resulted in a resource clearing price nearly ten times higher than the previous year, triggering alarm among state regulators and independent market monitors. The Organization of PJM States, Inc. (OPSI) and the Independent Market Monitor (IMM) have both flagged serious design flaws and potential market manipulation that may have artificially inflated prices.
“New Jersey families and businesses are now facing higher electric bills because of a capacity auction process that appears rigged against the public interest,” said Senator Stack (D- Hudson). “The results of PJM’s auction raise serious questions about market manipulation and artificial scarcity that demand immediate federal scrutiny. We are committed to keeping energy costs affordable and will not stand by while PJM’s failures and questionable practices burden our residents.”
Although PJM’s operations fall under federal jurisdiction, SR-133 highlights the disproportionate impact that the auction results have on New Jersey consumers, many of whom receive electricity through the state’s Basic Generation Service (BGS) auction. The capacity price set in the BRA directly influences the cost of power procurement under BGS, thereby impacting nearly all residential and small business ratepayers in the state.
The resolution’s advancement in committee is a significant step toward ensuring FERC takes corrective action to protect ratepayers and preserve confidence in regional electricity markets.