In her story “Why your electric bill is rising this winter and how to prepare” (Nov. 29, TribLive), Megan Trotter states “the price of power has surged because of international conflicts, growing energy consumption and the rising price of natural gas, which made up 43% of electricity generation in 2023 … .” As Trotter predicted, on Dec. 1, Allegheny County residents were hit with a 10.6% increase in Duquesne Light bills.
Electricity rates are being driven up by PJM, our regional grid operator, which manages the flow of energy in 13 states including Pennsylvania. Why is this happening? In the face of increased energy demands, PJM is delaying many projects that have been proposed by energy companies that could help meet growing energy needs. Ninety-eight percent of these delayed projects would add a massive 202 gigawatts of renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.) to the grid.
The solution is not to continually squeeze more money out of consumers who are struggling to keep their heads above water. The solution is for PJM to do its job: clear up the bottleneck that it created and approve these clean projects now.
Mary Zuccaro
Carnegie