Wednesday, June 11, 2025

PUC Releases Electric Utility, PJM Summer Readiness Reports: Sufficient Generation Capacity, But Extreme Demand May Result In Energy Shortfall

On June 11, the
Public Utility Commission released the 2025 Summer Readiness Overviews submitted by the Commonwealth’s major electric distribution companies  and the regional electric grid operator, PJM Interconnection, LLC.

The reports show that utilities and PJM have made extensive preparations to meet expected summer electricity demands, including system upgrades, emergency response planning, and coordination with regional partners.

Summer Forecast

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the summer of 2025 is forecast to be hotter and wetter than normal, with an above-average Atlantic hurricane season already underway. 

These conditions could drive increased electricity use while also raising the risk of severe weather-related service disruptions.

PJM Regional Grid

PJM projects sufficient generation capacity to meet forecasted peak summer demand of just over 154,000 megawatts (MW), with reserves available to maintain grid reliability under typical conditions. 

However, as noted in PJM’s 2025 Summer Outlook, this marks the first time their annual assessment includes an extreme scenario where demand exceeds 166,000 MW, potentially resulting in a shortfall of required reserves. 

In such situations, PJM would take certain emergency actions to meet the high forecast peak load scenario, including initiating contracted demand response programs — which compensate participating customers for voluntarily reducing electricity use during grid emergencies.  [Read more here.]

“These annual readiness reports provide a comprehensive look at how Pennsylvania utilities and our grid operator are preparing for a season of high demand and increased storm threats,” said PUC Chairman Stephen M. DeFrank. “We’ve already seen how quickly conditions can change – like the late-April storm that knocked out power to more than 500,000 customers in southwestern Pennsylvania. That’s why preparedness, coordination, and resilience matter more than ever.”

Key Highlights from the Reports

-- System Readiness: Utilities describe ongoing inspections, equipment upgrades, vegetation management, and other maintenance efforts aimed at reducing outages and improving reliability.

-- Storm Response: Companies detail their strategies for responding to severe weather, including lessons learned from past events and mutual aid planning.

-- Demand and Capacity Planning: PJM outlines its strategy for managing peak loads, including the use of demand response programs to supplement reserves during extreme grid conditions. EDCs also describe how they plan for electric capacity additions and the potential impacts of behind-the-meter load like data centers, electric vehicles, and distributed energy resources.

Grid Resilience

The PUC stresses the importance of resilience — ensuring that utility systems can recover quickly from disruptions and continue serving the public through extreme events.

Separate from these readiness reports, the Commission noted that the ongoing PUC review the late-April 2025 storm event across southwestern Pennsylvania that impacted customers of Duquesne Light Company and FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Company, to examine lesson-learned from that event.

Copies Of Reports

The 2025 Summer Readiness Overviews are available here--

Citizens' Electric Company

Duquesne Light Company

FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power rate districts)

PECO Energy Company

Pike County Light & Power

PPL Electric Utilities

UGI Utilities Inc. (Electric Division)

Wellsboro Electric Company

PJM Interconnection, LLC

Visit the PUC’s Reliability webpage for more information.

Stay Informed and Be Prepared

The PUC encourages Pennsylvanians to stay informed, report outages promptly, and take steps to prepare for potential weather-related disruptions. Please follow the PUC and your local utility for information on utility storm preparation and storm safety.

Click Here for the PUC announcement.

Visit the Public Utility Commission website for more information.

Resource Links:

-- PJM Interconnection Forecasts Adequate Electric Generation For Typical Summer Demands; Preparing Demand Response Resources To Reduce Power Use In Extreme Scenarios  [PaEN] 

-- PUC Urges Electricity Customers To Start Shopping, Conserve Energy To Help Avoid Impact Of June 1 Rate Increases Of Between 5% and 16% On Most Electric Bills  [PaEN] 

-- Bloomberg: US DOE Orders 760 MW Eddystone Peaking Power Plant In Delaware County To Remain Open Due To The Energy ‘Emergency’ Declared By The President  [PaEN] 

-- North American Electric Reliability Corp.: Record Load Growth From Data Centers, High Temperatures Expected To Strain Electric Grid This Summer  [PaEN] 

-- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Summer Electricity Assessment Sees Adequate Generating Resources To Meet Normal Operating Conditions; Higher Natural Gas Prices Driving Electricity Prices Higher  [PaEN] 

-- Gov. Shapiro Provides Update On The Fight To Lower Energy Prices, Calls On General Assembly To Move His Commonsense Lightning Energy Plan  [PaEN] 

-- Rise Of The Machines:  Senate, House Members Express Concern That Demand For Power To Run Computers Is Impacting The Price And Availability Of Electricity For ‘Ordinary People’  [5.12.25] 

-- PUC Hearing On Data Center Growth Impacts Finds 30-40% Of Utility Demand Could Be From Data Centers; Concerns About Stranded Costs; Major Commitments To Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Energy Use [PaEN]

-- PUC House Budget Hearing: We Aren’t Going To Build Our Way Out Of Electric Generation Shortfalls On PJM Grid; We Need To Diversify Our Generation Sources   [PaEN]

-- PUC Invites Stakeholder Comments On The Issue Of The Adequacy Of Electricity Supplies In Pennsylvania  [Background On Issue]  [PaEN]

-- 30 Stakeholder Comments Received By PUC On Adequacy Of Electricity Supplies In Pennsylvania; Increasing Natural Gas Power Plant Reliability To 90-95% Would Mean No Imminent Capacity Problem  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 14 [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 96 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 14 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP: Widespread Non-Compliance With Environmental Laws Continues In Conventional Oil & Gas Industry;  3,108+ Abandoned Wells; At Least 85% Conventional Well Owners Fail To Submit Production, Waste, Well Integrity Reports  [PaEN]

-- DEP’s Oil & Gas Advisory Board Meets June 25 On Well Development Pipelines; Wastewater Management Practices; Future Well Plugging Funding Needs  [PaEN] 

-- PA Senate Republicans Pass Bill To Roll Back Environmental, Health, Safety Regulations By Doing Nothing And Avoiding Accountability  [PaEN]

-- Delaware River Frack Ban Coalition Launch Initiative To Defend The Delaware River Watershed From Oil & Gas Fracking  [PaEN] 

-- Plum Borough Zoning Hearing Board Voted To Deny Penneco Environmental's Application For Another Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Allegheny County  [PaEN] 

-- Protect PT, Partners To Host June 25 Webinar: 5 Years Later - A Progress Report On PA's Grand Jury Report On Fracking  [PaEN] 

-- $100/Well Bounty Established For Previously Unknown Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners Under New Program Funded By Oil Region Alliance; 4 Penn State Extension Workshops Set  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Reviewing Permits For Drinking Water Treatment System To Provide Water For 21 Homes In Dimock, Susquehanna County Whose Wells Were Contaminated By Shale Gas Drilling 20 Years Ago 

-- 25 Environmental Groups; Local Government Associations Oppose House Bill To Fast Track Large-Scale Energy Generation, Storage Projects Proposed By Gov. Shapiro  [PaEN]

-- Lead Counsel On Court Cases Striking Down Provisions In Act 13 To Preempt Local Regulation Of Oil & Gas Operations Raises Concerns About Proposed Legislation Establishing A RESET Board To Site Large Energy Projects  [PaEN] 

-- Gov. Shapiro Announces Amazon Plans To Invest $20 Billion In Pennsylvania For A.I. Data Center Infrastructure; Amazon Told PUC It Has Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Goal By 2040  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Permit For 72 - 2.5 MW Diesel-Fired Emergency Generators At New Amazon Data Services Data Center In Bucks County  [PaEN]

-- PA Trout Unlimited, 17 Other Environmental, Conservation Organizations Expressed Opposition To Proposed DEP Changes To Spill Reporting Requirements  [PaEN]

-- Republican Sen. Hutchinson Introduces Bill To Abolish DEP Climate Change, Recycling Fund, Coastal Zone Advisory Committees  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Rep. Vitali: PA House Environmental Committee Examines Problem Of Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells

-- The Center Square: Higher Plugging Bonds Floated To Help The State’s Abandoned Conventional Well Problem

-- MCall: Is Ban On Fracking In Delaware Watershed At Risk?  Advocates Put Out A Call To Action

-- TribLive: Plum Zoning Board Rejects Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well After Lengthy Battle In Allegheny County; Company Plans To Appeal  

-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Pennsylvania Has Failed Environmental Justice Communities For Years; A New Bill Could Change That 

-- Inquirer/Capital & Main- Audrey Carleton: Pennsylvania Has Failed Environmental Justice Communities For Years, A New Bill Could Change That

-- Beaver Times/Inside Climate News- Jon Hurdle: PA Fracking Company Surrenders Water Permits, Can’t Get Enough Water Out Of Big Sewickley Creek In Beaver County

-- TribLive: President Coming To Pittsburgh For PA US Senator McCormick’s July 15 PA Energy & Innovation Summit  

-- Sen. McCormick: President Coming To July 15 PA Energy Innovation Summit In Pittsburgh

-- The Allegheny Front: Pittsburgh 2030 District Buildings Reduce Carbon Emissions By 50%

-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: A Future Fueled By Washington County - By Electra Janis, Washington County Commissioner [Hydrogen Hub]

-- Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition: Read The Letters Rejected By The Post-Gazette, Inquirer From The Shale Gas Industry

-- Wall Street Journal: US Electric Bills Headed Higher: Forecast Of Hotter-Than-Normal Summer, More Expensive Natural Gas Mean Pricier Power 

-- Utility Dive: A.I. Data Centers Could Overwhelm The Electric Grid, Unless They Are Required To Run Their Facilities On New Power Sources, Market Analytics Says  

-- Reuters: Data Center Demand To Push US Power Use To Record Highs In 2025-26, EIA Says

-- EarthJustice: 12 Groups File Lawsuit Challenging President Issued Unlawful Exemptions From Mercury, Arsenic Standards For 68 Coal Plants By Email

[Posted: June 11, 2025]  PA Environment Digest

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe To Receive Updates:

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner