Figure

PJM cleared demand response capacity versus the RTO capacity clearing price, by delivery year, 2007/08 through 2028/29

PJM's cleared demand response fell to 5,710.3 MW for the 2026/2027 delivery year, the year in effect during the July 2026 heat wave and the smallest total cleared across PJM's capacity auctions in fifteen years, as the RTO capacity clearing price rose nearly tenfold from $28.92/MW-day (2024/25) to $269.92 (2025/26), then cleared at its caps: $329.17 (2026/27), a record $333.44 (2027/28), and $325.00 (2028/29). Cleared demand response turned up in the 2027/2028 auction (7,298.6 MW) and eased slightly in 2028/2029 (7,017.4 MW).

Two-panel chart. Top: PJM cleared demand-response UCAP MW by delivery year, 2007/08 through 2028/29, rising from 127.6 MW (0.1%) to a peak of 15,453.7 MW (8.9%) in 2015/16, then declining in 10 of the next 11 years to 5,710.3 MW in 2026/27, a 15-year low, before recovering to 7,298.6 MW in 2027/28 and easing to 7,017.4 MW in 2028/29. Bottom: PJM's RTO capacity clearing price by delivery year, rising from $28.92/MW-day (2024/25) to $269.92 (2025/26), then clearing at its caps: $329.17 (2026/27), a record $333.44 (2027/28), and $325.00 (2028/29).

This figure is from the PJM July 2026 heat-wave case study, a primary-source reconstruction of how PJM's demand-response fleet held its July 2 peak below the 2006 record at a multi-year fleet low.

Cite this figure

Corey Balgeman, "PJM cleared demand response versus the capacity clearing price, 2007/08-2028/29," Grid Flexibility, 2026. https://gridflexibility.fyi/case-studies/pjm-heat-wave-july-2026/figures/pjm-dr-fleet-vs-capacity-price

Licensed CC BY 4.0: free to republish with attribution. License details.

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Last updated: 2026-07-24.