PJM Reliability Backstop: February 2026 Workshop Preview
This page preserves the February 2026 workshop stage. It is not current procurement guidance. PJM's July 27 Board decision now defines the proposed backstop price ceiling, initial volume, calendar, cost allocation, and large-load service framework. Continue to the current decision owner.
What this archive captured
In February 2026, PJM began stakeholder workshops on a one-time Reliability Backstop Procurement to address resource-adequacy pressure associated with rapid load growth, generator retirements, and delays in bringing new resources online. At that stage, the final procurement volume, price ceiling, term, bid schedule, cost allocation, and large-load service rules were unsettled.
The workshop record remains useful for understanding how the proposal developed. It should not be used to quote the current mechanism or forecast a customer bill.
What changed on July 27
The PJM Board directed staff to prepare a Reliability Backstop Procurement filing and a companion Insufficient Resource Adequacy Service filing at FERC. The current design uses the 6,831 MW 2028/2029 auction gap as its initial central-procurement need, subject to reductions for bilateral and self-supply commitments; sets a $555/MW-day maximum willingness to pay; permits commitments of up to 15 years; and creates a 50 MW Large Load Registry threshold.
Those decisions replace the preliminary assumptions that once appeared here. They still represent a proposed regulatory design, not a final FERC-approved tariff.
Use the current owner
Read PJM Backstop Board Decision: $555/MW-Day Cap and Large-Load Rules for the source-backed calendar, proposed allocation mechanics, large-load conditions, buyer caveats, and next actions.