Press Release

PUC Releases 2025 Summer Readiness Reports from Electric Utilities and PJM

Published on 6/11/2025

Filed under: Electric

Utilities and Grid Operator Report Adequate Resources as Pennsylvania Faces Hotter, Wetter Summer and Heightened Storm Risks

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today released the 2025 Summer Readiness Overviews submitted by the Commonwealth’s major electric distribution companies (EDCs) and the regional electric grid operator, PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM).

The reports show that utilities and PJM have made extensive preparations to meet expected summer electricity demands, including system upgrades, emergency response planning, and coordination with regional partners.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the summer of 2025 is forecast to be hotter and wetter than normal, with an above-average Atlantic hurricane season already underway. These conditions could drive increased electricity use while also raising the risk of severe weather-related service disruptions.

PJM projects sufficient generation capacity to meet forecasted peak summer demand of just over 154,000 megawatts (MW), with reserves available to maintain grid reliability under typical conditions. However, as noted in PJM’s 2025 Summer Outlook, this marks the first time their annual assessment includes an extreme scenario where demand exceeds 166,000 MW, potentially resulting in a shortfall of required reserves. In such situations, PJM would take certain emergency actions to meet the high forecast peak load scenario, including initiating contracted demand response programs — which compensate participating customers for voluntarily reducing electricity use during grid emergencies.

“These annual readiness reports provide a comprehensive look at how Pennsylvania utilities and our grid operator are preparing for a season of high demand and increased storm threats,” said PUC Chairman Stephen M. DeFrank. “We’ve already seen how quickly conditions can change – like the late-April storm that knocked out power to more than 500,000 customers in southwestern Pennsylvania. That’s why preparedness, coordination, and resilience matter more than ever.”

Key Highlights from the Reports:

• System Readiness: Utilities describe ongoing inspections, equipment upgrades, vegetation management, and other maintenance efforts aimed at reducing outages and improving reliability.
  
  
• Storm Response: Companies detail their strategies for responding to severe weather, including lessons learned from past events and mutual aid planning.
  
  
• Demand and Capacity Planning: PJM outlines its strategy for managing peak loads, including the use of demand response programs to supplement reserves during extreme grid conditions. EDCs also describe how they plan for electric capacity additions and the potential impacts of behind-the-meter load like data centers, electric vehicles, and distributed energy resources.

The PUC stresses the importance of resilience — ensuring that utility systems can recover quickly from disruptions and continue serving the public through extreme events.

Separate from these readiness reports, the Commission noted that the ongoing PUC review the late-April 2025 storm event across southwestern Pennsylvania that impacted customers of Duquesne Light Company and FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Company, to examine lesson-learned from that event.

Availability of Reports

The 2025 Summer Readiness Overviews are available on the PUC’s Reliability webpage and include reports from:

• Citizens' Electric Company
• Duquesne Light Company
• FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power rate districts)
• PECO Energy Company
• Pike County Light & Power
• PPL Electric Utilities
• UGI Utilities Inc. (Electric Division)
• Wellsboro Electric Company
• PJM Interconnection, LLC

Stay Informed and Be Prepared

The PUC encourages Pennsylvanians to stay informed, report outages promptly, and take steps to prepare for potential weather-related disruptions. Please follow the PUC and your local utility for information on utility storm preparation and storm safety.

Visit the PUC’s website at puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

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Contact:

• Nils Hagen-Frederiksen
  Press Secretary
  717-418-2701
  nhagen-fre@pa.gov
• David Hixson
  Deputy Press Secretary
  717-772-2766
  dhixson@pa.gov