Spanberger joins governors in letter to PJM urging energy affordability and reliability

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, alongside six other governors and the Mayor of Washington, D.C., has sent a letter to PJM Interconnection, a regional electric grid operator, advocating for data centers to bear a "fair share" of energy and infrastructure costs. The letter to PJM leadership, described by a Spanberger release, outlined a "consumers first framework" for the operator's new reliability backstop auction. The initiative comes as Virginia's Democrat-led General Assembly faces a budget impasse, partly due to internal disagreements over data center tax exemptions. Governor Spanberger emphasized the need to maintain an affordable and reliable energy grid, ensuring that increasing demands do not become a burden on Virginia ratepayers. PJM Interconnection manages power grids across 13 states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The letter stresses PJM's foundational role in promoting efficiency and ensuring the lowest possible electricity prices for consumers. The issue of power infrastructure, such as the expanded Tenaska power plant in Fluvanna County and the proposed Valley Link transmission line across nine central Virginia counties, has been a recurring concern for local supervisors within the PJM service area.