Below is a summary of the issues scheduled to be brought to a vote at the Markets and Reliability Committee and Members Committee meetings Thursday. Each item is listed by agenda number, descrip­tion and projected time of discussion, followed by a summary of the issue and links to prior coverage in PJM Insider.

PJM Insider will be in Wilmington covering the discussions and votes. See next week’s newsletter for a full report.

Markets and Reliability Committee

2. PJM MANUALS (9:10-9:25)

A. MRC will be asked to endorse changes to Manual 11 affecting regulation rules, hydropower generators, station manning and shortage pricing. The changes provide clarifications, correct errors and conform to other manuals.

B. MRC will be asked to approve changes to Manual 14D: Generation Operational Requirements. The changes con­form to other manuals and reflect a revised NERC stan­dard, updated information and addition of the Wind Unit Dispatchability Check List.

3. FTR MODELING PROPOSALS (9:25-9:45)

Members will be asked to select between two proposed changes to the modeling of Financial Transmission Rights. The two proposals from the Financial Transmission Rights Task Force (FTRTF) received near-unanimous support from the Market Implementation Committee in May. A third option failed with less than 40% support and a vote on a fourth option was postponed.

Under the first option (FTR Task Force option 2J), PJM “may model normal facility capability limits, if possible, for all Stage 1A over allocated facilities in FTR Auctions.”

The second option (option 3G), would allow PJM to “model normal facility capability limits, if possible, on facilities which are infeasible as a result of modeled transmission outages in monthly FTR Auctions.”

4. SUSPENSION OF Day-Ahead Market for Loss of Internet (9:45-9:55)

PJM seeks stakeholder approval for contingency plans to respond to an Internet outage that forces the RTO to suspend the day-ahead market. PJM has no procedures for dealing with an Internet outage that could prevent the RTO from receiving participant data needed to solve the day-ahead market.

Under the proposed tariff changes, all market settlements would be done in real time.

5. Regional Planning Process Task Force (RPPTF) (9:55-10:15)

MRC will vote on a recommended change to the cost allocation of Market Efficiency projects. The proposal, developed by the Regional Planning Process Task Force, would calculate benefits on a 50/50 ratio based on its impact on production costs and net load payments (energy benefits) or impact on capacity costs and net capacity payments (capacity benefits).  The proposal received overwhelming support from respondents surveyed by the task force. Only 29% of respondents favored continuing the current method, under which 70% of benefits are calculated based on production or capacity cost savings.

6. Demand Response Problem Statement (10:15-10:30)

PJM will ask approval of a problem statement to consider how to treat demand response as operational capacity resources. PJM expects to deploy DR in system operations with increasing frequency due to DR’s increasing share of capacity and generation plant retirements. Use of DR under current rules creates potential operational problems. Potential results from the inquiry include:

• Changes to DR obligations to move from administrative procedures to economic dispatch.
• Base notification time requirements on physical response capability, similar to current requirements for generators.
• Allow DR to operate with a dispatchable range similar to generation resources.
• Caps on the amount of Limited DR that can be cleared above the quantity specified in reliability analyses.

7. Gas Electric Senior Task Force (GESTF) (10:30-10:45)

MRC will be asked to approve the charter for a task force it created in March to study potential reliability problems resulting from PJM’s increasing reliability on gas-fired generation.

The proposed charter calls on the Gas Electric Senior Task Force (GESTF) to provide education, prioritize issues and draft problem statements and solutions for each issue.

The task force is expected to work last through the 2016/2017 delivery year, during which PJM expects significant additions of new gas-fired generating capacity to replace coal retirements. All PJM stakeholders may appoint representatives to the task force.

Sean McNamara will be the chairperson and Rami Dirani the secretary.

8. Tariff and OA Errata (10:45-10:55)

The committee will be asked to approve corrections to errors inserted in Schedule 1 of the PJM Operating Agreement and Attachment K of the tariff in 2008 and 2009.

One correction will clarify how deviations occurring within one zone are associated with PJM’s Eastern or Western region for purposes of Operating Reserve charges. The other will insert a cross reference to tie language concerning forgiveness of positive demand deviations to the shortage pricing “trigger.”

9. Transparency of TO Calculations (10:55-11:10)

Robert Weishaar, an attorney who represents industrial energy users, will ask MRC to approve a problem statement that could result in requirements that transmission owners make tariff filings disclosing their calculation of total hourly energy obligations, peak load contributions, and network service peak loads. The calculations are used to allocate energy, capacity, and transmission cost responsibility among load serving entities.

Weishaar said two-thirds of PJM’s transmission owners have failed to file tariffs disclosing the methodology they use to make their cal­culations, in violation of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules.

10. Energy Storage Resources (11:10-11:25)

A representative of the Electricity Storage Association will ask MRC to approve a problem statement that would develop rules for including advanced energy storage technologies in its ancillary services and capacity markets.

Although pumped hydro participates in PJM markets, the RTO has no rules for advanced technologies such as batteries, flywheels, thermal storage and compressed air, a representative of the Electric Storage Association told MRC members.

11. Wind LOC Eligibility (11:25-11:40)

PJM will ask MRC to approve a problem statement that would seek to draft tariff language explicitly listing rules for wind resources to receive Lost Opportunity Cost credits.

Although the requirements are described in PJM Manuals, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in a May 29 order that the requirements should be approved by the commission and listed in the PJM Tariff. “PJM has not shown that it is just and reasonable for PJM to have the discretion to reset compensation levels retroactively when neither the particular circumstances that would trigger PJM’s actions nor the financial consequences are specified in the tariff,” the commission wrote.

 Members Committee

2. CONSENT AGENDA (1:20-1:25)

The committee will be asked to approve revisions to Manual 15: Cost Development regarding cost-based offers in the regulation market. Information on cost-based offers is being moved into Manual 15 from Manual 11.

3. PMU DEPLOYMENT (1:25-1:40)

PJM will seek endorsement of Tariff revisions approved last month by MRC requiring new generators to pay for the installation and maintenance of phasor measurement units (PMUs). PJM will pay for the communication link with the PMUs, which provide data that helps PJM in real-time operations and system planning. The Inter­connection Service Agreement will be changed to require installa­tion of PMUs at new interconnections for generators with name­plate ratings of 100MVA or larger.

4. DEMAND RESPONSE (DR) PLAN ENHANCEMENTS (1:40-2:00)

The committee will be asked to endorse PJM’s proposed filing in response to FERC’s April order requiring the RTO to seek commission approval for new rules imposed last year on 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 new rules will 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.