January 1, Exploding Electric Bills Expose Grid Rigging

Wyatt’s Take

• Power bills soar as grid bosses use a broken payment system
• Wind and solar push reliable plants out, raising our costs
• Switching to pay-as-bid could save families real money

Families are feeling the pain as electricity bills keep climbing. The current way our power grid pays energy producers is loaded against common sense and working folks.

The big grid managers, like PJM in the East and MISO in the Midwest, control who supplies power to millions. They use a system called “pay-as-clear” where every chosen power plant gets paid whatever the highest pick offered, not what they bid.

“Every power plant that gets picked is paid the highest accepted bid, no matter how low they offered to sell their electricity.”

This makes bills jump, because high-priced peaker plants and unreliable wind and solar often end up driving payouts for everyone. Costs jumped in 2024, with PJM’s price skyrocketing from $28.92 per megawatt-day to $269.92, costing $14.7 billion. The main reasons? Growing demand from data centers, more wind and solar that don’t run all the time, and the shutdown of reliable coal and gas plants.

Coal and gas closures are sped up by wind, solar, and government rules. Subsidies let wind and solar bid low and get picked first, but they only work part of the time. When wind blows or the sun shines, that’s fine, but when Midwest storms hit or the grid is stretched by summer heat, we’re left short.

Running reliable plants like coal and gas gets pricier as they sell less of their steady power, since they must cover their fixed costs. This guarantees rates will keep climbing if we put all our eggs in the wind and solar basket.

Other nations with lots of wind and solar, like Germany and Denmark, pay more than double the U.S. average for electricity. Our system just makes this worse for American families.

Making wind turbines and solar panels uses heavy industry powered by coal, often overseas. Even then, we need backup gas plants for times when renewables can’t produce.

“Calling on demand coal and natural gas backups for wind and solar is like calling a full-time pitcher a backup for a pitcher that can only pitch when the wind blows or the sun shines.”

There’s a fix: Change to a pay-as-bid system. That means every plant gets paid what it actually bid, so they’re forced to compete fairly. If wind and solar can’t cut it, they won’t get picked, and folks could save big.

Competition and good rules would keep prices fair, while keeping power reliable for families and businesses.

The current system of favoring wind and solar with subsidies and unfair bidding just makes costs worse. Pay-as-bid prioritizes honesty and true competition, putting working people ahead of special interests.

It’s time the folks running our grid start looking out for us, not for giant energy lobbyists or foreign factories burning coal. Our power grid should keep homes bright and bills affordable for regular Americans.

Read more at Daily Caller

Wyatt Matters

Every American deserves an energy system that puts families first, keeping lights on without draining paychecks. Protecting reliable power and real competition means giving working folks what they need—affordable, steady electricity and a fair deal at the end of the month.