# PJM and the capacity crunch

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2025-07-31
- Length: 31m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-07-31-pjm-and-the-capacity-crunch

## Summary

Steve Piper, research director for North American Power and Renewables at S&P Global, explains why PJM’s recent capacity auction cleared at record-high prices, driven by data center load growth and revised reliability rules. He details how the auction price surged from ~$30/MW-day in the early 2010s to over $329/MW-day, hitting the price cap, and discusses the resulting retail rate impacts for consumers. Piper also analyzes the challenges facing new generation development, including gas turbine supply chain bottlenecks, and the underperformance of demand response resources in the latest auction.

## Chapters

- [2:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-07-31-pjm-and-the-capacity-crunch#t=142) Introduction and PJM Auction Mechanics
- [6:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-07-31-pjm-and-the-capacity-crunch#t=414) PJM's Shift from 4-Year to 1-Year Forward Auctions
- [12:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-07-31-pjm-and-the-capacity-crunch#t=743) Record-Breaking Capacity Prices and Price Caps
- [21:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-07-31-pjm-and-the-capacity-crunch#t=1277) Resource Adequacy Concerns and Gas Turbine Shortages
- [25:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-07-31-pjm-and-the-capacity-crunch#t=1509) Demand Response Performance and Regulatory Uncertainty
- [28:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-07-31-pjm-and-the-capacity-crunch#t=1698) National Trends in ISO Reliability Revisions

## Topics

- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- PJM (company)
- S&P Global (company)
- EnergyHub (company)
- GE (company)
- Siemens (company)
- ISO New York (company)
- ISO New England (company)
- California ISO (company)
- ERCOT (company)
- Midwest ISO (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Like a steam engine in your house](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2025-04-15-like-a-steam-engine-in-your-house) (The Amp Hour)
- [EP 186: Mobile Bottlenecks, Skyrocketing AI CapEx, and the Compute Crunch](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2026-08-03-ep-186-mobile-bottlenecks-skyrocketing-ai-capex-and-the-compute-crunch) (The Circuit)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-07-31-pjm-and-the-capacity-crunch. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.