Manual 1 Revisions Endorsed

The PJM Operating Committee on April 9 endorsed a package of changes to Manual 01: Control Center and Data Exchange Requirements, including the elimination of a requirement that actual meter test results should be provided to the RTO. (See “Stakeholders Delay Vote on Manual 1 Revisions,” PJM OC Briefs: Jan. 8, 2026.)

Stakeholders held off on approving the language in January so that PJM staff could address concerns that without a reporting requirement, the RTO would be left to assume meter data are correct. Language was added stating that the provisions in generation interconnection agreements requiring periodic meter tests must be respected, recognizing PJM can request meter tests, and that discrepancies discovered should be resolved on by the settling parties. It also notes PJM holds five years of settlement data.

March Operating Metrics

PJM saw an average hourly load forecast error rate of 1.75% in March and an average peak hour forecast error of 1.68%. There were five days when the daily peak forecast error rate exceeded the 3% benchmark:

• • high temperatures on March 1 pushed loads 3.25% down;
  • low temperatures in several zones on March 13 led to a 3.95% underforecast;
  • cold weather on March 15 led to a 3.71% underforecast;
  • much higher temperatures than forecast on March 19 contributed to a 5.98% overforecast; and
  • temperature forecast error in several zones on March 22 led to loads coming in 4.23% higher than expected.

There were two spin events, four shared reserve events, one high-system-voltage action, three geomagnetic disturbance warnings, 19 shortage cases and 11 post-contingency local load relief warnings in March.

Three of the shortage cases occurred on March 1 starting at 7:35 p.m. because of a loss of generation. Nine were on March 12 between 7 and 7:40 p.m. owing to resource ramping limitations and solar generation falling off as load increased. Seven cases from 5:05 to 5:35 p.m. on the following day were attributed to ramp limitations and higher-than-forecast load.

The first spin event was on March 1 at 7:29 p.m. and lasted 11 minutes and 9 seconds. There were 2,416 MW of generation and 643 MW of demand response assigned, of which 1,335 MW and 499 MW responded, respectively, for an overall response rate of 60%. There were 1,225 MW of reserve penalties assessed.

The second event was on March 5 at 2:24 a.m. and lasted three minutes and 59 seconds. There were 1,996 MW of generation and 656 MW of DR assigned, of which 268 MW and 439 MW responded, respectively, for a 27% response rate.

Monitor Update on Synch Reserve Performance

The Independent Market Monitor presented the results of outreach to the owners of 14 resources that underperformed during a March 1 synchronized reserve event and found that communication issues are becoming less of an issue, while personnel and parameter issues continue to pull the response rate down.

The Monitor has been reaching out to owners of underperforming resources for months as part of an effort with PJM to address a lingering poor response rate for synchronized reserves.

There were 2,538 MW dispatched during the event, of which 72% responded. The Monitor has long recommended that PJM count overperformance when calculating the fleet-wide response rate; when adding that in, the response rate increases to 91%.