PJM expects 177,628 MW of generation this winter, a 35% margin over the projected peak demand of 131,720 MW, the RTO said Thursday.

The peak load for the 2014-15 season was a record 143,295 MW, set in February. Temperatures are forecasted to be milder this year.

While last winter saw colder temperatures than the previous year, when the region was hit by a polar vortex, the RTO experienced fewer generator outages — rarely exceeding a 15% outage rate compared with rates as high as 22% in January 2014.

“PJM has taken many steps to reinforce generator readiness and to continue to improve coordination with natural gas pipelines, a key source for a large portion of the generation fleet,” said Michael Kormos, executive vice president and chief operations officer for PJM.

In preparing for the winter, PJM offered testing to generating units that had not run in the eight weeks prior to Nov. 1, repeating a program begun last year, and had generators complete a survey assessing their fuel supplies.

Also this summer, PJM signed an information-sharing agreement with nine interstate pipelines. (See PJM, Pipelines Pledge Increased Cooperation to Boost Reliability.)

About 10,000 MW of generation have retired since last winter, only about 3,000 MW of which has been replaced, Kormos told FERC in September. (See PJM to FERC: We’re Prepared for Winter.)

 — Suzanne Herel