VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — A task force unanimously approved by the PJM Planning Committee last week will craft minimum design standards for greenfield projects that are competitively solicited under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 1000.

PJM and stakeholders said the standards are needed because entities designated for such projects are not required to follow the design standards of the involved transmission owner. (See Task Force Would Create Standards for Order 1000 Projects.)

“The purpose of establishing minimum design standards is to assure a minimum level of robustness is provided such that the new competitively solicited facility would not introduce a weak point in the system in terms of performance,” according to the problem statement.

Participation in the group will be open to all PJM members.

The standards will address transmission lines, substations and system protection and control design coordination. They will take into account factors such as the physical geography of a site and local ordinances.

The rules will not apply to upgrades or non-competitive projects.

The task force also is expected to explore the creation of a “common facility ratings methodology.”

Tariff Tweaks Address Merchant Network Upgrades

The Planning Committee unanimously approved changing some tariff language to more accurately reflect how PJM processes requests for merchant network upgrades.

“We’re not actually changing the way we treat merchant upgrades,” PJM’s Jason Connell said.

He said the language was outdated because it addressed the only type of customer PJM accommodated in 2003: the interconnection customer. In 2006, it added other types of upgrade requests.

The changes address definitions, queue entry, agreements and the capacity market.

Two-Tiered Transmission Project Fee Heads to FERC

PJM will file with FERC a two-tiered fee schedule for proposed transmission projects, the Planning Committee agreed.

For projects of $20 million to $100 million, the RTO will collect $5,000 to cover its study costs. For proposals greater than $100 million, it will charge $30,000.

PJM’s Fran Barrett called the fee schedule, which will be implemented on a two-year trial basis, “conservative.”

“We may be in a situation where we’re under-collecting,” he said, in which case the RTO would lean on the planning system budget. If the opposite turns out to be the case, the excess funds will be disbursed to members.

The Members Committee in February had approved a $30,000 fee for any project greater than $20 million, but planners subsequently concluded that was unnecessarily high. (See PJM Lowers Proposed Tx Project Study Fee.)

Initially, PJM had suggested that $30,000 be assessed on all greenfield projects and on all upgrades costing more than $20 million, but FERC rejected the idea, calling it discriminatory. (See FERC Rejects Fee on Greenfield Transmission Projects.)

Load Model Picked for 2015 IRM Study

The Planning Committee approved using a load model based on the 2003-2012 period in its calculation of Installed Reserve Margin (IRM) requirements.

Last year’s selected load model used the timeframe of 2004-2011, but PJM’s Patricio Rocha said that wasn’t a good fit for this year because load models including 2012 were better aligned with coincident peak distribution. The alternatives were 2001-2012 and 1998-2004.

The 2015 study will set IRM requirements for base capacity auctions for delivery years 2016 through 2019 and establish the initial IRM for 2019/20.

— Suzanne Herel