PJM officials said they are pleased with the response to their request for additional black start resources, as more than 50 generators responded with offers.

“There appears to be a large pool of viable units, both proposed and existing,” said Mike Kormos, PJM executive vice president for operations.

Officials said it will take months to select their fleet of black start resources from among current resources and the new bidders. Locational needs and costs will be the determining factors.

Black start units must be capable of starting without an outside electrical supply, maintaining frequency and voltage under varying load, and maintaining rated output for a specified time, typically 16 hours.

The solicitation was one of the recommendations of the System Restoration Strategy Task Force, which also increased the pool of potential resources.

PJM expects to lose some existing black start capacity by 2015 due to coal plant retirements.