Five market efficiency projects, all in the ComEd zone, will be presented to the Board of Managers for its approval when it meets this week.

However, planners are holding off on recommending advancing the Hanover Pike baseline project while the need for it as a reliability project is evaluated, Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee Chair Paul McGlynn said. (See “PJM to Send Five Market Efficiency Projects to Board,” PJM Planning Committee & TEAC Briefs.)

“We’re going back and looking at the original drivers of the project,” he said. “We had put it in RTEP in 2008-09. Clearly, there have been a number of changes. We’re looking back to see if the reliability driver is still there.”

Four of the projects involve upgrading capacitors at the Brambleton, Ashburn, Shelhorn and Liberty substations. The size of the capacitors to be used has been adjusted since last month based on physical limitations, but the same system will be recommended. The other project is an upgrade to the 345-kV Loretto-Wilton Center line.

The projects are the last of the 2014-15 proposal window, and it’s possible if they can’t get wrapped up soon that they will be pushed forward into the 2016 window.

Meanwhile, the first proposal window of 2016, to last 30 days, is expected to open sometime this week.

PAR, LTFTS Task Forces are Sunsetted

The Planning Committee voted to sunset the Phase Angle Regulator and Long-Term Firm Transmission Service task forces.

All activities assigned to the groups have been completed.

Changes to Manual 14D governing the use of PARs, will be handled through regular Planning Committee meetings. (See “Long-term Firm Transmission, PAR Manual Changes Endorsed,” PJM MRC & Members Committee Briefs.)

— Suzanne Herel