SustainabilityAugust 17, 2026
The Data Center Tax on the Rust Belt: PJM Capacity Prices Rose 1,038% and a Brick Plant's Monthly Bill Went From $1,600 to $12,000
PJM's capacity price went from $28.92/MW-day in 2024/2025 to $329.17 for the delivery year now on bills — and the market's own monitor attributes 38% of the latest auction's $16.4 billion cost to data centers. Here is how that reaches a 141-year-old brick plant's P&L, and why the large-load tariffs 23 states have approved do nothing about it.