Washington, D.C., is one of many areas across the country preparing for major energy bill increases this summer. 

Washington Gas, which serves more than a million residents in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area, is proposing a 12% rate increase for customers, or almost $200 more a year on gas bills for the average customer, starting in August. 

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Pepco, which is part of PJM Interconnection, raised electricity rates for more than a million customers in Washington and Maryland in January. Washington customers saw a 5% increase while Marylanders experienced an average spike from $166 to $173, according to Fox 5.

PJM is a regional grid operator that manages the electricity grid in the Eastern-Central region of the United States, including parts or all of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington.

The DMV isn’t the only area experiencing energy rate hikes under PJM’s system. After a capacity auction the grid operator held last year that implemented energy rate increases for the summer of 2025, cities across other states are facing similar hikes, leading legislators to introduce bills and lawmakers to mount lawsuits against the operator.

In Maryland, customers face rate increases between $4 and $18 per month. In Baltimore, there has been particular outcry after the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company increased rates on Jan. 1. Under BGE, which is part of PJM, Baltimore residents saw their average gas bill rise by 9% and electric bills soar by 7%.

Now, at least six states have introduced legislation that would scrutinize electric utilities’ involvement in PJM Interconnection, per the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators. 

Their actions come after residents in states such as Pennsylvania face a 10%-20% increase in electricity bills this summer due to a capacity auction held by the PJM Interconnection last June that resulted in pricing 833% higher than the prior year. Business owners will also see up to a 29% increase starting in June 2025, according to Electricityplans.com.

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) filed a complaint against PJM with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last December, arguing that the energy network can bring prices down if it changes auction rules.

PJM has rebuffed the governor’s positioning, saying that the energy crisis has been a long time coming because the state and federal policies have pushed supply and demand out of sync.

“We have been warning for over two years of the prospect that parts of our country could run short of power during high-demand periods,” PJM told the York Dispatch in early January in response to Shapiro’s complaint. “This possibility has been growing, primarily as a result of state and federal policy decisions that are pushing generators to retire prematurely, and also due to unprecedented and rapidly growing data center construction.”

The Shapiro administration announced a settlement with PJM in late January that the governor said would save consumers over $21 billion in energy costs over two years. However, the planned rate hikes for this summer due to last year’s auction will still be implemented. 

Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey have similarly pointed fingers at PJM over accusations it is primarily responsible for jacking up utility prices on Garden State residents by nearly 40% this summer.

“PJM is justifying an increase to average customers’ electric bills by $20 to $25 a month when the new rates take effect in June 2025,” Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D-NJ) deputy director for the state’s office of climate action and the green economy said in a video posted to X on Monday. “PJM is causing these exorbitant cost increases in 13 states and D.C. because they delayed cost-efficient forward planning for new capacity, incorrectly calculated current resources to meet reliability needs, and didn’t bring new clean resources online that are currently backlogged, waiting for interconnection approvals projects.” 

PJM has turned the blame back on the state, saying Murphy’s ambitious green energy policies that steer away from natural gas generation and nuclear energy in favor of all-electrification targets have placed a strain on energy suppliers, raising rates for residents. In 2023, the governor announced goals to reach an accelerated target of 100% “clean energy” by 2025, a policy advocates hailed as the most ambitious clean energy goal in the country.

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“Demand is increasing due primarily to the proliferation of data centers, but also due to electrification as well as the onshoring of the U.S. manufacturing industry,” Asim Haque, PJM’s senior vice president of governmental and member services, told New Jersey lawmakers during a special joint committee hearing in late March.

“As demand is going up, supply is going down. Supply is coming off the system due primarily to decarbonization policies and some economics,” he continued.