PJM said Thursday it is pressing on with an inquiry into demand response providers’ ability to fulfill their commitments, despite resistance from members.
PJM said its Capacity Senior Task Force would proceed with the inquiry although the MRC Thursday rejected a problem statement that would have considered the need for “enhanced resource verification measures.” The problem statement — which would have assigned the inquiry to the Demand Response Subcommittee because of the planned sunset of the task force — fell far short of the majority vote needed for approval.
Instead, PJM officials said they would continue the task force and proceed under its charter, which allows it to evaluate the “auditing of DR contracts.”
“It’s a fishing expedition to look for a problem,” said Dan Griffiths, a representative of DR provider Comverge. “Here we go again.”
PJM projects DR resources will be called upon from five to nine times annually beginning in 2014/15, up from one to five calls in 2013/14, as a result of declining Installed Generation Reserve Margins. PSEG proposed the problem statement, saying the increasing calls could result in “fatigue” among demand response resources.
Griffiths said PJM’s projections fail to account for capacity resulting from intermediate auctions and are too uncertain to be the basis of policymaking.
Response to FERC Order
Separately, PJM officials said they will respond to an April 19 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order by drafting tariff changes to implement increased data requirements for demand resources participating in capacity auctions.
Acting in response to a complaint by Comverge and two other DR providers, FERC ruled that PJM must seek commission approval for requirements that DR providers to submit officer certifications and additional information on their customers. FERC said the changes required amendments to the PJM tariff — which require FERC approval — and not just its manuals.
Andy Ott, PJM senior vice president for markets, said the FERC order would not affect DR participation in the upcoming auction. “We have what [DR information] we need,” he said.
PJM contact: Sarah Burlew
