PJM Data Center-Driven Power Auction Prices Limited By $325/MW-Day Cap

PJM's July 2026 capacity auction procured 136,318 MW of generation at a $325/MW-day price cap, falling 6,831 MW short of the reliability standard; uncapped prices would have reached $554.72/MW-day (Pennsylvania) to $775+/MW-day (Illinois ComEd region), driven by data centre load growth outpacing new supply. If you're building a data centre east of the Rockies, the grid can't physically deliver the power you want - and the price cap masking true scarcity means you'll negotiate supply deals, not just buy from the market. The real cost of your electricity just became a site-selection problem, not a commodity one.