Pennsylvania Wants Out of the Biggest US Grid. It Won’t Be Easy.

When utilities from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland established what is today the largest US grid, they aimed to provide power at the lowest possible price. But nearly 70 years later, the cost of securing power has surged to record highs, prompting Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to threaten to leave the now-13-state network.

A key issue is the proliferation of energy-hungry data centers in the region, which are driving up demand and raising utility bills for ordinary consumers. Shapiro and other politicians also complain that grid operator PJM Interconnection LLC has been too slow to integrate inexpensive renewable energy sources ...