Every DER value stream in PJM.
About 75 percent of PJM distribution cooperatives, 59 of 79, run at least one DER program. Capacity charges for the delivery year are set by load during the five highest PJM peak hours of the prior summer.
August 2026 · Texture · Practitioner reference for cooperatives and municipal utilities
75%
PJM distribution cooperatives with at least one DER program (59 of 79)
$333.44
2027/28 Reliability Pricing Model clearing price per MW-day
30 GW
New data-center load PJM expects by the early 2030s
About this report
PJM Interconnection serves about 67 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia. Summer peak demand ran near 162 GW in 2025 against roughly 182 GW of installed generating capacity. Investor-owned utilities serve about 88 percent of residential and commercial accounts, cooperatives about 7 percent, and municipal systems about 5 percent. The footprint has 32 investor-owned utilities, 79 distribution cooperatives, and 136 municipal systems.
Key findings
How is PJM capacity billed, and why does 5CP matter for DERs?
A load's capacity charge for the whole delivery year is set by its use during the five highest PJM peak hours of the prior summer, the 5CP. That Peak Load Contribution sets the capacity bill for twelve months, so trimming load in those few hours cuts cost across the year. The 2024/25 auction cleared at $28.92 per MW-day; 2025/26 jumped to $269.92; 2027/28 cleared at $333.44, the second consecutive year at a price cap. Transmission is billed separately on each zone's own peak.
Can aggregators already bid demand response into PJM?
Yes. PJM has run competitive demand response longer than any other market, through Curtailment Service Providers such as CPower, Enel, Voltus, and NRG. Third-party aggregation of demand response is open across the footprint now, with no MISO-style state opt-out. Full FERC Order 2222 participation for mixed distributed-resource aggregations begins February 1, 2028. PJM also expects roughly 30 GW of new data-center load by the early 2030s, concentrated in Northern Virginia, which is what pushed capacity prices up.
Get the DER Value in PJM Report.
Frequently asked questions
Does PJM have a flexible-ramping product?
No. PJM does not run a flexible-ramping product the way CAISO, MISO, and SPP do. It manages net-load uncertainty through reserves and regulation. Grid-scale storage on the system is still small, a few hundred megawatts against tens of gigawatts in California and Texas, though that is changing as capacity prices climb.
How common are DER programs at PJM cooperatives?
About 75 percent of the region's distribution cooperatives, 59 of 79, run at least one program, from electric-vehicle and water-heater load control to battery and rate programs. Investor-owned utilities report programs at 47 percent (15 of 32) and municipal systems at 7 percent (10 of 136).
How does PJM's capacity market differ from MISO and CAISO?
PJM procures capacity through the Reliability Pricing Model, a Base Residual Auction held ahead of each delivery year. Unlike MISO, where most utilities self-supply, and unlike CAISO, which has no capacity market, PJM clears a competitive price that load pays. That price is now high enough that shaving the 5CP tag is one of the clearest DER value streams in the footprint.