PJM's $6.3B Data Center Cost Raises Indiana Manufacturing Electricity Costs

PJM's 2028/29 capacity auction cleared 138,317 megawatts at the capped price of $325 per megawatt-day, $16.4 billion in total capacity payments for the 12 months starting June 1, 2028. PJM's independent market monitor attributed $6.3 billion of that to planned data centers inside the footprint, a cost spread across all customers rather than paid by the data centers themselves. For industrial customers on RTO pass-through contracts, capacity payments can represent a meaningful low-double-digit share of wholesale power costs, though the exact figure varies by contract structure, load profile, and your LSE.

Why it matters: retail prices in PJM are already up roughly 49 percent over five years, against a national average near 33 percent. A FERC Section 206 show-cause order requires PJM and its transmission owners to respond by August 17 on whether the current tariff unjustly pushes large-load transmission costs onto other customers. Pull your current contract and stress-test your 2028 energy budget against a scenario where the FERC cap is lifted and clearing prices rise materially.