By Rory D. Sweeney

FERC on Monday approved part of PJM’s cost responsibility assignments for its updated Regional Transmission Expansion Plan but rejected allocations for four cross-border projects, instituting a Section 206 proceeding to revise the RTO’s Tariff language to address the reasons for its rejection (EL18-173, ER18-614, et al.).

The commission approved 41 projects, but rejected the allocations for the Targeted Market Efficiency Projects b2971, b2973, b2974 and b2975. PJM transmission owners had argued that PJM erred in not allocating project costs to Hudson Transmission Partners and Linden VFT, which operate merchant lines into New York City and had recently converted their firm transmission withdrawal rights to non-firm rights. Those lines would benefit from the TMEPs, other TOs contended.

FERC rejected PJM’s argument that the Hudson and Linden facilities should be exempt, noting that PJM’s Tariff says, “Transmission congestion charges are incurred in the zones and merchant transmission facilities in which market buyers experienced net transmission congestion charges, regardless of whether the merchant transmission facility has firm or non-firm transmission withdrawal rights.”

PJM also recognized its requirement to assign TMEP costs in the zones and merchant facilities “shown to have experienced net positive congestion over a two-year historical period as determined by PJM and MISO” but didn’t allocate any costs to Linden or Hudson, nor provide any explanation, the commission said.

It also said Schedule 12 in PJM’s Tariff, which outlines cost allocations, is ambiguous about whether merchant facilities should be exempt from allocations, which PJM argued they should be.

“We therefore find that the most reasonable interpretation of the PJM Tariff is to allocate within PJM its share of the costs of TMEPs to those zones and merchant transmission facilities in PJM that are shown to have experienced net positive congestion over the two historical years, as determined by a TMEP study conducted by MISO and PJM,” the commission said.

FERC denied PJM’s use of two commission opinions and its decision to grant the requests from Linden and Hudson to convert their firm withdrawal rights to non-firm transmission withdrawal rights, saying they provide no guidance because they focus on different issues.

The commission ordered PJM to file new cost assignments that “must reflect Hudson’s and Linden’s pro rata share of the sum of the net transmission congestion charges paid by market buyers of the zones and merchant transmission facilities in which market buyers experienced net transmission congestion charges, as identified through the TMEP study.” PJM has 30 days to clarify the Schedule 12 language or show cause why it shouldn’t be revised.

FERC set the 206 proceeding to adjust Schedule 12 to conform with its interpretation in the order. Parties interested in being involved have 21 days to register. FERC set the refund date for when the proceeding is published in the Federal Register.

FERC also rejected protests from the Public Power Authority of New Jersey, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and Dominion, saying PJM adequately addressed them.