For years, Americans were told that strict controls on who could own and build power plants would foster competition and lower prices. But in large parts of the mid-Atlantic, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland — PJM; this area also includes other states — the reality has been far different since the 1990s restructuring wave.

Electricity rates in PJM states are rising faster than inflation and faster than in many other parts of the country. Families and small businesses are absorbing the impact of volatile capacity auctions and wholesale price spikes, while being told that this is “how markets work.” American consumers deserve a more honest conversation about the state of market competition and how outdated rules are holding back affordable power prices.