PA Residents Pay More for Electricity Under Shapiro “Price Cap”
Pennsylvania’s Senate Republicans are speaking truth to power, calling out PA Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro’s policies as one of the primary reasons why PA residents pay more for electricity. And Joshie doesn’t like being called out. State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward argues the state is losing out under a roughly $325-per-megawatt-day price cap on PJM Interconnection’s capacity auctions, approved by the federal government after a lawsuit by Gov. Josh Shapiro (see PJM Grid Caves to PA Gov. Shapiro Bullying Again, Caps Prices 2 Yrs). Ward says energy-rich Pennsylvania now pays more for electricity while resource-poor states like Maryland and Virginia pay less, effectively “socializing” energy costs. Read More “PA Residents Pay More for Electricity Under Shapiro “Price Cap””
In February 2024, members of the South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a proposed project to build a 1,020-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in the state’s Lowcountry, in Colleton County (see 
In early May, MDN brought you details about a proposed NSCALE data center project in Mason County, WV (see 
New York State, with its bizarre energy policies, has officially bankrupted yet another company. Danskammer Energy, which operates a gas-fired peaker power plant along the Hudson River in Newburgh, NY, had tried for years to upgrade the plant (since 2018), but finally threw in the towel in June 2024 (see 
In early April, the EPA revised certain Biden-era oil and natural gas regulations, specifically aspects of the 2024 Clean Air Act rules (OOOOb/c, known as “Quad O”), to reduce compliance burdens and lower energy costs (see 
Earlier this year, the board of commissioners in Montour County, PA, voted unanimously to reject Talen Energy’s request to rezone empty agricultural land near Talen’s Montour Power Plant for a proposed data center (see 
We are encouraged by recent developments in two Pennsylvania townships, one in northeast PA, the other in southwest PA, with respect to moving forward with data center projects. We get it. People are up in arms, some feeling as though data centers are being “forced” on them by less-than-transparent builders. Noise. Lights. Water usage. All are concerns. However, as we’ve stated many times, reasonable people can work together, sort through the issues, and move these projects along. That’s what we’re seeing in Olyphant, PA, a suburb of Scranton in Lackawanna County, and in South Strabane Township in Washington County. 
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Jessica Shirley visited the site of an orphaned well being plugged in Allegheny County, PA, to celebrate the plugging of the 400th orphaned well since Josh Shapiro assumed the governorship in January 2023. There’s nothing wrong with Shapiro’s bragging and chest-puffing, except that Ohio plugged 480 orphaned wells last year. Since January 2023, Ohio has plugged 1,214 orphaned wells, compared to PA’s 400 wells (3X more). Which makes us ask: Why does it take so much longer and cost so much more to plug wells in PA than in OH? 
In February 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a plan by PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest electric grid (which covers all or parts of 13 states, including PA, OH, and WV), to fast-track the addition of new gas-fired power plants (see 
Yesterday, President Trump accused New York Governor Kathy Hochul of reneging on her pledge to allow the 125-mile Constitution Pipeline project to be built in the Empire State. The project was canceled in 2020 after New York repeatedly rejected the necessary permits. President Trump brokered a deal with New York Governor Kathy Hochul to resurrect the project last year (see 
On April 29, 2026, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued six violations to CNX Resources for causing water supply problems affecting two Bell Township residences in Westmoreland County. The violations targeted three CNX facilities with 19 shale gas wells drilled between 2022 and 2026. DEP determined that CNX operations diminished water supplies after two homeowners filed complaints in December 2025 about loss of well water. CNX was ordered to provide temporary water within 24 hours and submit restoration plans within 15-45 days. CNX, which *did* offer temporary water back in December, is disputing the DEP’s findings, denying responsibility and claiming insufficient evidence of hydrogeologic pathways linking their operations to water impacts. 
On June 8, 2026, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspector visited Frontier Natural Resources’ Winner 1, Winner 2, Winner 4H and Winner 6 shale gas well pads, along with four multimillion-gallon water impoundments in East and West Keating Townships, Clinton County. The inspector found that Frontier had not restored the pads and impoundments within 9 months of drilling ending. But here’s the thing: the original violations were lodged by the DEP on July 14, 2017. That’s almost nine years ago! In other words, the DEP didn’t bother to re-inspect the pads/sites for nine years. 
Back in March, MDN alerted you to a potential new water pipeline coming in Lycoming County, PA, for EQT shale drilling (see 
On March 18, President Trump issued a 60-day waiver pausing the enforcement of the Jones Act (see 