On July 23, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held a commissioner-led technical conference regarding reforms to PJM’s governance and stakeholder processes, focusing “on identifying and evaluating concrete, actionable reforms to improve PJM’s ability to address operational and market needs in a timely and efficient manner.”
To kick off the conference, FERC’s Chairman and the Commissioners gave opening remarks, followed by remarks by two invited speakers, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Honorable James P. Danly, and the White House National Energy Dominance Council’s Senior Director of Power, Peter Lake. Speakers highlighted recent shortcomings and a potential future in which PJM is unable to meet energy demand.
Regarding the mechanics of PJM’s governance structure, panelists and Commissioners discussed enhanced roles for states, including whether states should have a seat on the Nominating Committee, whether additional committees should be established to represent state interests, and whether states should be granted filing rights under section 205 of the Federal Power Act. Additional key themes included Board independence (i.e., terms limits, qualifications, and transparency), PJM’s Section 205 filing rights, issue accountability, and PJM’s Member-centric culture.
Regarding PJM’s stakeholder process, speakers questioned whether the current stakeholder structure is equipped to meet current issues with the necessary speed and efficiency. Key topics included issue prioritization (with state input), setting deadlines, as well as whether affiliate voting and advisory voting are appropriate.
During the conference, FERC noted that it will seek post-conference comments and will provide a list of questions for stakeholders to address. If stakeholders are unable to reach consensus on reforms by the end of September, FERC stated that it will use its legal authority to implement reforms.
For more information, please contact Thomas Rudebusch, Bhaveeta Mody, and Sylwia Dakowicz.
Article By DWGP Summer Associate Juliette Gaggini– The George Washington University Law School, May 2027
