Barry Trayers of CitiGroup Energy won endorsement from the Markets and Reliability Committee for his proposal to add an acceptable reason for early capacity replacement to Manual 18: PJM Capacity Market.

After Trayers agreed to remove the words “wind” and “solar,” the motion passed with three objections and six abstentions.

The change adds the following as an acceptable reason for early replacement: “If the replacement resource’s capacity is not affected by its outage rate, such as cleared incremental auction buy bids, the replacement transaction can be completed at any time.”

“The reason is the deal’s already done,” Trayers said. “There’s a sale and a purchase, and you’d like to merge those in your portfolio and know where you stand.”

End of Life Senior Task Force has New Name, Charter

Members approved a charter for the Transmission Replacement Process Senior Task Force, previously referred to as the End of Life Senior Task Force.

The group will be tasked with developing ways to provide more transparency and consistency in the communication and review of end-of-life projects in the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan. (See PJM TOs Oppose Proposal to Develop End-of-Life Criteria.)

New Issue for Energy Market Uplift Senior Task Force

The committee approved revisions to the Energy Market Uplift Senior Task Force charter to incorporate a problem statement and issue charge regarding the review of virtual transaction rules.

The group will study biddable nodes and the application of uplift and determine whether recommendations from PJM’s
October 2015 white paper on virtual transactions should be implemented. (See PJM Suggests Changes to Virtual Transactions.)

PJM is awaiting a related FERC order on whether up-to-congestion trades will be charged uplift and made subject to the RTO’s financial transmission rights forfeiture rule (EL14-37). (See FERC Issues Request for Comments in UTC Uplift Docket; Ruling by October?)

Stricter Standards OK’d for Project Queue Submittal

Members approved the Earlier Queue Submittal Task Force’s recommended Tariff revisions, which would require earlier submittal of documentation in order for projects to secure a place in the interconnection queue.

The revisions will be presented for endorsement to the Members Committee at its June 30 meeting. (See “New Project Submittal Process to Require Earlier Filing of Documents,” PJM Planning Committee and TEAC Briefs.)

Tweaks to DER Problem Statement OK’d

Members approved clarifications to the previously approved distributed energy resources problem statement. (See “Faster Path to Market for Distributed Resources to be Studied,” PJM Markets and Reliability Briefs.)

The changes recast the entry of distributed resources into the PJM market as having “unique challenges” instead of being “cost-prohibitive and time-consuming.”

Members Hear First Reads on PLS, Tx Equipment Upgrades

• Members heard the first read of a proposal to update the parameter limited schedule exception process to permit more flexibility.
• Paul McGlynn, senior director of planning, presented a first read of a proposal to except transmission substation equipment upgrades from the competitive window. (See “Typical TO Upgrades Would be Excluded from Competitive Window Under Proposal,” PJM Planning Committee and TEAC Briefs.)

Real-Time Values Added to Manual 11

The committee approved changes to Manual 11: Energy and Ancillary Services Market Operations that incorporate real-time values.

The changes allow a market seller to communicate a unit’s actual operating parameters to PJM before and after the day-ahead market closes when the unit cannot operate for certain reasons.

The language stipulates that real-time values may be used to modify the turn-down ratio, minimum run time, minimum down time, maximum run time, start-up time and notification time, and they can be made whole due to an actual constraint.

Committee Unanimously Endorses Manual Changes

The following manual changes were approved Thursday:

• Manual 3: Transmission Operations. Updates stem from a periodic review.
• Manual 11: Energy and Ancillary Services Market Operations. Resources that cannot reliably provide day-ahead scheduling reserve obligations in real time will be excluded from DASR eligibility. They include nuclear units, dynamic transfers, run-of-river and self-scheduled pumped hydro units, wind units, solar units and non-energy resources. (See “Day-Ahead Scheduling Reserve Eligibility to be Studied,” PJM Market Implementation Committee Briefs.)
• Manual 13: Emergency Operations. Updates are the result of a periodic review.
• Manual 14D: Generator Operational Requirements. Attachment L addresses the joint-owned resource communication model.
• Manual 14E: Merchant Transmission Specific Requirements. Amendments reflect changes to the merchant network upgrade process approved last July by the MRC.
• Manual 36: System Restoration. Amendments incorporate lessons learned from the annual restoration drill as well as a periodic review.

– Suzanne Herel