PJM Approves 220‑Mile, 765‑kV Mid‑Atlantic Transmission Line Backed by Exelon and NextEra

Mid‑Atlantic Transmission Spine Wins PJM Approval, Exelon Says

Exelon and NextEra Energy Transmission announce that the PJM Board of Directors approves a proposed roughly 220‑mile, 765‑kilovolt transmission line to serve West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the broader Mid‑Atlantic region. The project, overseen by PJM for 13 states and the District of Columbia, is designed to add bulk transmission capacity that utilities say is necessary to meet extraordinary demand growth that localized upgrades cannot address. Sponsors say the line will enable new generation to connect to the grid, shore up reliability and help keep electricity affordable for families and small businesses.

Company officials frame the project as a regional economic and reliability investment. Matt Valle, president of NextEra Energy Transmission, says the line will support long‑term safe, reliable and affordable power and benefit local economies, while Carim Khouzami, Exelon’s executive vice president of transmission and development, says the investment is critical to deliver rising energy requirements with customer affordability front of mind. The sponsors add the project is intended to attract industrial investment, create construction and operations jobs, and reduce reliability risks as supply struggles to keep pace with demand.

NextEra and Exelon say they will advance permitting, environmental reviews and community engagement as they progress development following the Feb. 13, 2026 announcement from Juno Beach, Florida, and Chicago. The companies plan open houses later this year and pledge coordination with regulators, landowners and local stakeholders to minimize community impacts while maximizing reliability benefits and long‑term value for customers and the regional economy.

White House adviser flags data center cost shift

White House trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro says the administration may push data center builders to absorb the full costs they impose on local utilities, including electricity and related resiliency and water demands. Navarro does not outline implementation details; Meta responds that it already pays energy costs and funds grid upgrades, reflecting growing debate over how to allocate rising infrastructure costs driven by large compute users.

Affordability and political pressure on utilities

The discussion comes amid rising electricity prices — up 6.9% year‑on‑year in 2025 — and increasing political scrutiny as the 2026 midterms approach, making utility costs and energy policy more salient for regulators, developers and large customers such as data center operators. Exelon and grid operators are navigating those pressures while moving to expand transmission capacity to meet demand.