Rep. Danielle Friel Otten

10/16/2026

📢 The Warnings Are Growing: What Are People Saying About PJM? 📢

As electricity costs continue to rise, concerns about PJM are no longer coming from a single state, political party, or stakeholder group.

Over the past several months, governors, state legislators, regulators, consumer advocates, senior state officials, U.S. Department of Energy, and even the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have all raised concerns about PJM's governance and its resistance to meaningful reform.

For the past year, I've been working with lawmakers from across the PJM region to advocate for greater transparency, accountability, and public representation in the decisions that affect our electric grid and, ultimately, the utility bills Pennsylvanians pay each month.

In my latest Substack article, "The Warnings Are Growing: What Are People Saying About PJM?", I examine the growing chorus of voices calling for reform, why they are sounding the alarm, and what it means for consumers across Pennsylvania and the 13-state PJM region.

As electricity costs continue to rise, regulators, policymakers, & state leaders from across the political spectrum are increasingly questioning whether PJM is acting in the public interest.

10/15/2026

🚛 📄 ✂️ Let the countdown begin...

We're just 9️⃣ days away from our FREE Paper-Only Shred Event!

If you've been putting off cleaning out that filing cabinet, desk drawer, spare closet, or the stack of boxes that's been sitting in the garage for years, now is the perfect time to start sorting through those old documents.

✅ Free
✅ Secure
✅ Easy

Clean out the clutter and protect yourself from identity theft!

🔗 Learn more here: https://buff.ly/fTZkrQ8

10/13/2026

❗️ Chester County Voters ❗️

Ballot drop boxes for completed mail-in ballots are now open!

📮 Find a drop box near you: chesco.org/ballot-drop

Mail ballot drop boxes are now OPEN for Chester County residents!

Locations and hours of operation: chesco.org/ballot-drop.

Under Pennsylvania law, voters must return their own ballots. The only exceptions to this are for voters with a disability who have designated someone using the Designated Agent form.
Download the form: bit.ly/4hRl20P.

10/12/2026

Today, on Indigenous Peoples' Day, we recognize the Native peoples whose stewardship of this land and contributions to our shared history continue to shape our nation.

While 2026 has been filled with celebrations of America's 250th anniversary, it's important to remember that the American story did not begin in 1776. Long before the founding of the United States, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy united sovereign nations under a system of governance that balanced self-government with cooperation and collective decision-making.

Colonial leaders, including Benjamin Franklin, observed and learned from the Haudenosaunee. In 1744, an Onondaga leader named Canassatego encouraged the colonies to unite, demonstrating that while a single arrow can be broken easily, a bundle of arrows bound together is strong. The eagle on the Great Seal of the United States still holds a bundle of 13 arrows, a lasting symbol of that idea: that people can come together in common purpose without losing their individual identities.

Of course, Indigenous history is also a story of profound loss and injustice. European settlement brought displacement, broken treaties, forced removal, and brutal efforts to erase Indigenous cultures, spiritual practices, political authority, and ways of life. Indigenous Peoples' Day calls on us to acknowledge that painful history while honoring the resilience of the Indigenous nations and communities that have endured and continue to thrive.

More than 250 years later, it's important that we remember and acknowledge the Haudenosaunee example that unity does not require uniformity, even as we reckon with the harsh reality of what European settlement meant for the Haudenosaunee, the Lenape who called this region their home, and other Indigenous nations across the North American continent.

In observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, our district office will be closed today, October 12. We will reopen on Tuesday, October 13 at 9 AM to assist you with any state-related issue.

10/08/2026

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝

💰️ I am proud to announce that more than $1 million in state funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has been awarded to benefit multiple community projects.

I'm excited to see these state investments coming back to our communities to support projects that will expand recreational opportunities, improve accessibility, and strengthen connections between neighborhoods. Projects like these enhance quality of life for residents of all ages while creating community spaces that will be enjoyed for years to come.

✅ $800,000 for the Uwchlan Trail Woodland Connector in Uwchlan Township
✅ $250,000 for East Brandywine Township ’s Community Park

These awards reflect the vision and dedication of local officials who are continually looking for ways to improve their communities and create new opportunities for their residents. I'm grateful for the work they’ve done to advance these projects, and I am always happy to support their efforts to secure the state funding needed to bring them to life.

🔗 Read more here: https://buff.ly/6pWDFUW

10/06/2026

Just two kids from Fern Rock…St. Helena’s and Incarnation, at the PA State Capitol 💙💛 Kicking off month 🎀

10/05/2026

❗ ROADWORK ALERT ❗

PennDOT has announced that base repair will close Corner Ketch Road in East Brandywine Township, Chester County, beginning on Tuesday, October 6.

🚧 Tuesday, October 6, through Friday, October 16, from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Corner Ketch Road will be closed and detoured weekdays between Hopewell Road and Route 282 (Creek Road). During the closure, drivers will be directed to use Hopewell Road, U.S. 322 (Horseshoe Pike), and Little Washington Road.

Local access will be maintained at all times. Drivers are advised to allow extra time when traveling near the work area or along the detour route because backups and delays may occur.

10/05/2026

PA Sustainability Week Kicks Off Today! 🌿⚡

Starting at 12:00 PM today, join us daily this week (Oct 5–9) for free, 1-hour webinars on the future of clean energy, electric grid reliability, EV infrastructure, and money-saving programs in Pennsylvania!

Today’s session kicks off with "Empowering the Future – It All Starts with the Grid" at 12:00 PM ET.

🔗 Register now to access daily sessions and the full series: https://bit.ly/4jlDHEf

10/02/2026

On Wednesday, I spoke on behalf of the bipartisan PJM Interconnection Legislators' Collaborative and the constituents we collectively represent, ahead of a vote on proposed governance reforms at PJM, the organization responsible for managing the electric grid serving 67 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia.

For the past year, I have worked with legislators from across the PJM region to advocate for reforms that protect ratepayers and increase transparency, accountability, and public representation in PJM's decision-making process.

Back in June, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairwoman Laura Swett described PJM as facing a "grave legitimacy crisis" and called for reforms that would increase PJM's independence from the industry stakeholders that make up its voting membership, reduce barriers to action, and give states real input on decisions affecting their constituents.

Chairwoman Swett gave PJM until September 30 to either fix the problem itself or have FERC impose its own reforms on PJM.

Unfortunately, the PJM Members’ governance proposal approved by the PJM Members Committee at Wednesday’s deadline falls far short of those goals. Rather than strengthening independence and accountability, it expands the influence of PJM’s industry members, giving them veto power over state proposals and expanded power over critical decisions.

The decisions made at PJM affect electricity costs and reliability for families, small businesses, school districts, and municipalities throughout Pennsylvania and across the 13-state region. Those decisions should be guided by transparency, accountability, and the public interest, not by efforts to protect industry profits.

What the PJM Members are proposing is an unserious answer to a deeply serious crisis.

Following the vote, PJM notified FERC that while the PJM Members’ proposal represents an agreement among PJM’s voting Members, the proposal is not satisfactory to the other stakeholders in this dispute resolution process.

As we await FERC’s next move, and as electricity prices continue to rise, I will continue to fight alongside my legislative colleagues and consumer advocates for a system that puts ratepayers first, demands accountability from the institutions making these decisions, and ensures that the voices of the people paying the bills are heard.

Our families, businesses, schools, and local governments deserve an energy system that works for them, not one that puts corporate profits ahead of the public interest.

🔗 Read my full remarks here: https://buff.ly/VU0AFC3

AUDUBON, PA, Oct. 1 – The bipartisan PJM Legislators’ Collaborative sharply criticized yesterday’s vote by PJM’s Members Committee to advance the Members’ governance proposal, saying the package fails to address the fundamental governance problems that prompted...