FERC ruled Friday that PJM must seek commission approval for new rules requiring demand response providers to provide officer certifications and additional information on their customers.

Acting on a complaint by three demand response providers, FERC said the changes required amendments to the PJM tariff and not just its manuals. Tariff changes require commission approval while manual changes don’t.

The rules, implemented March 28, require Curtailment Service Providers seeking to participate in capacity auctions to file “Sell Offer Plans,” including information about the provider’s customers. CSPs also must have a company officer sign a certification attesting to the company’s intent to physically deliver MWs.

The demand response providers filed the complaint April 3, saying the rules create unnecessary barriers to demand response participation in PJM’s capacity markets.

The plaintiffs’ procedural victory may be short-lived, however. In a statement concurring with the order, Commissioners Philip Moeller and Tony Clark indicated they would look favorably on the changes when PJM files them with the commission. “It appears that PJM has a legitimate need to require that demand resources provide certain information to substantiate offers to supply capacity,” the commissioners wrote.

The commissioners said the information was needed to prevent uncertainty that could “degrade the very purpose of PJM’s capacity market.”