PJM won’t seek additional compensation for black start generators in the face of stakeholder opposition, officials told members Friday. Instead, members of the task force studying the issue will be polled to determine their next step.
Two proposals that would have boosted payments to existing units failed to win a two-thirds vote from stakeholders Feb. 27 as the Markets and Reliability Committee split along supply-load fault lines. (See Stakeholders Reject Pay Hike for Black Start Units.)
Some stakeholders contend existing black start generators should receive additional compensation to encourage them to continue providing the service.
But PJM Executive Vice President for Operations Mike Kormos told the System Restoration Strategy Task Force Friday that the Board of Managers will not act unilaterally on any pay increase because there is no evidence that the current compensation is causing an exodus.
“They don’t see a reliability concern,” Kormos said. “Quite frankly, the equity issues are not that clear.”
He added, “That’s not to say [the board’s view] won’t change. That’s why I’m hesitant to say cut the discussion off.”
One proposal, which would have increased annual payments for a 20 MW CT to $71,600, from the current $51,000, won only 60% support in the MRC vote. An alternative, which would have boosted compensation for the same unit to $312,500, also fell short, with only 45% support.
Task force chair Chantal Hendrzak said she will send a poll to task force members March 12 to determine next steps. Hendrzak said the poll will seek to gauge sentiment for reevaluating a PJM proposal considered by the task force, which would have boosted pay for a 20 MW CT to $65,000.
The poll also will ask about a narrower proposal that would not change the base compensation but would broaden the units that could receive compensation.
It would allow:
- compensation for storage of fuel other than oil;
- automatic load rejection units — plants that can disconnect from the grid during a blackout — to recover the costs of complying with NERC cybersecurity standards; and
- energy-only units to receive compensation.
One member representing a generation owner expressed doubt that the work would be productive. “I don’t think loads are going to vote for anything [that increases compensation],” said AEP’s Brock Ondayko.
