Transmission – The Missing Link
The Mid-Atlantic has a power line problem — there aren’t enough power lines, they’re not in all the right places, and the ones we have are too outdated to meet the rising demand for electricity.
We know that modernizing the power grid is essential to delivering enough energy to keep industry growing and serve consumers affordably and reliably. For the first time in a generation, electrical demand is rising as data centers for AI, electric vehicles, and heat pumps all contribute to an anticipated increase of 2-3% per year in the electricity we need to power society.
But today’s transmission lines were built around large, centralized fossil fuel plants. They aren’t sufficient to connect the more flexible, distributed clean energy plants ready to power our future with locally-generated electricity that doesn’t require fossil fuel.
Across the PJM Interconnection — spanning 13 states and Washington, D.C. — transmission constraints are delaying solar, wind, and battery storage projects, increasing costs and limiting local economic benefits of new investment, not to mention prolonging air pollution. PJM now has a historic backlog of such projects awaiting interconnection.
The result: Within a few years, the region’s industry could be starving, with businesses and consumers hungry for more electrons.
Developers of new energy projects often face delays of five to seven years or more before they can connect to the grid. These bottlenecks prevent the most cost-effective and reliable energy solutions from reaching homes and businesses.
In parallel, disputes over how to divide the costs of new transmission lines across utilities and states have stalled long-overdue upgrades. That leaves ratepayers to shoulder the burden of emergency fixes and aging infrastructure, and rates keep going up.
State and federal leaders increasingly recognize the need for action. In 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which ensures fair energy prices and reliable transmission for electricity and natural gas across states, took an important step to meet this need. FERC issued Order 1920, requiring PJM and other grid operators to plan for long-term energy needs and take into account clean energy growth, rising demand, and increasing reliability risks from extreme weather.
The U.S. Department of Energy has proposed new National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) to help fast-track new power line projects in high-impact regions like the Mid-Atlantic.
And PJM has announced over $6 billion in near-term upgrades, with several states advancing new frameworks to improve coordination and long-range planning.
Fact Sheet: Download PDF: PJM Transmission Planning: What Is At Stake?
Offshore Wind
MAREC Action and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) commissioned a 2024 study that identifies pathways for states in PJM to engage in proactive transmission planning. If adopted, this approach would reduce consumer, system-wide, and generator interconnection costs, while supporting states’ clean energy goals and offshore wind development timelines.
Coastal states like New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia are already prepared to make historic investments in offshore wind. These projects will help diversify the region’s energy mix and strengthen resilience, especially during times of peak demand such as hot summer days, cold snaps, or other weather-related disruptions to the grid.
Reaping the benefits of offshore wind requires major onshore and offshore transmission upgrades. Through tools like PJM’s State Agreement Approach, states can work together to build the shared infrastructure needed to deliver offshore wind affordably, reliably, and on time. MAREC supports these efforts and continues to advocate for stronger regional coordination.
MAREC Action brings together renewable energy developers, manufacturers, and public interest organizations to maintain the momentum needed to modernize the grid and accelerate the clean energy transition. We engage directly with PJM, FERC, and state regulators to advance fair cost allocation, forward-looking planning, and streamlined interconnection timelines, all so communities can benefit from cleaner, lower-cost, and more resilient power.
For consumers — everyone who pays an electric bill — the stakes couldn’t be clearer. Without transmission reform, households and businesses face higher electricity bills, more frequent outages, and reduced access to the most affordable energy options.