PA PUC Taps RGGI Cheerleader Synapse to Study Data Center Grid Risk

Remember Synapse Energy Economics? That's the Massachusetts consulting outfit that, back in 2023, was paid by two Big Green groups to produce a "report" claiming Pennsylvania's RGGI carbon tax would lower your electric bill (see Big Green Sham "Report" Says PA RGGI Carbon Tax Cuts Electric Bills). Well, guess who the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) hired to tell us what data centers will do to the electric grid? Yep. Synapse. The PUC released the Synapse study on Monday, and the headline is scary: under PJM's own load forecast, the regional grid misses its reliability target every year from 2027 through 2030, and by 2030 the risk of blackouts is nearly six times worse than the standard. The villain of the story, according to Synapse? Data centers. We have a different take.

---

To view this content, log into your member account. (Not a member? Join Today!)