Loading...PJM Capacity Market (RPM / BRA)
Overview
PJM's Reliability Pricing Model (RPM) procures capacity commitments through the Base Residual Auction (BRA). Resources — including generators and demand-response aggregators — bid firm performance commitments in exchange for capacity payments.
Key Mechanics
- Winning bidders receive capacity payments and must perform during grid stress events
- Demand-response resources bid curtailable C&I load as capacity
- Performance verified through measurement & verification (M&V) protocols
- Settlement runs through PJM's ISO settlement system
Recent Price History
- 2022/2023 delivery year: sub-$50/MW-day
- 2025/2026 delivery year: ~$269.92/MW-day (most RTO zones)
- ~5–6x increase materially raised both legitimate revenues and fraud exposure
Enforcement Context
- FERC's $1.1B penalty against American Efficient LLC (2026) is the largest civil penalty in FERC history, driven in part by elevated clearing prices — see news-3215960
- FERC applied fraud standards historically reserved for physical market participants to DR aggregators
