Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a Statement of Principles alongside a bipartisan group of governors, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to advance a coordinated plan to reform PJM Interconnection, accelerate the construction of new energy generation, and protect families and businesses from rising electricity costs.

The Statement of Principles builds on years of leadership by Shapiro, who has been advocating for reforms to PJM since early in his term, took legal action when PJM failed to act, and secured real consumer protections that are now shaping the national response.

The group of bipartisan officials is pushing PJM to adopt rules that would get more power on the grid as quickly as possible — without passing new costs onto consumers who are already struggling with higher grocery, housing, and energy bills. The principles provide consumers critical protection by extending for two more years the price cap that Shapiro won after he sued PJM in 2024 to stop unjustified price hikes. The Governor made clear that his involvement today was contingent on extending the price cap he negotiated following his lawsuit — ensuring consumer protections remained at the center of all discussions.

If implemented as proposed, the extended price cap would save more than 67 million consumers — including 13 million Pennsylvanians — within the PJM region approximately $27 billion over the next two years with $5 billion in Pennsylvania alone. These savings would be in addition to $18.2 billion already saved as a direct result of Governor Shapiro’s 2024 lawsuit.

Wright, Burgum, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Statement of Principles at the event. In total, all 13 governors from PJM states have signed onto the Principles, underscoring broad bipartisan support for extending the price cap and advancing PJM reform.

“For two years, I’ve been sounding the alarm, explaining that without fundamental changes to PJM — Pennsylvanians were going to be paying more and more, and getting nothing in return,” said Shapiro. “I sued PJM when they refused to act and secured a price cap that saved consumers tens of billions of dollars on their energy bills. Since then I’ve been working with my fellow governors and federal energy officials to push PJM to make needed reforms, and I’m glad the White House is following Pennsylvania’s lead and adopting the solutions we’ve been pushing for — including the extension of the price cap that I insisted be included today. In Pennsylvania, we’ve been focused on creating more energy, permitting faster, and protecting consumers — we’re showing what’s possible when the government leads the way and gets stuff done.”

The agreement comes as the PJM Board is considering revised rules for the upcoming 2028-29 Capacity Auction, to be held in June. Governor Shapiro called on the PJM Board to immediately adopt the Statement of Principles for the upcoming auction to ensure that consumers are protected from further energy price spikes.

The Statement of Principles being advanced would require PJM to:

— Trigger a special “backstop” capacity auction offering generators up to 15-year commitments to accelerate the construction of new power plants.

— Allocate the cost of those long-term contracts to data centers and new large users that have not brought their own power — instead of shifting those costs onto households and small businesses.

— Significantly accelerate PJM’s interconnection process, including a firm 150-day deadline and expedited treatment for shovel-ready projects.

— Launch a new PJM process to deliver long-term market reforms while extending Governor Shapiro’s negotiated price cap for the next two auctions.

Together, these reforms are designed to lower costs, strengthen reliability, and finally fix PJM’s broken process — allowing economic growth and data center development to continue without burdening ratepayers.