VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — PJM will add a new section to its Operating Agreement specifying that substation equipment issues that can be solved by transmission owner upgrades are excluded from Order 1000 competitive windows, PJM’s Mark Sims told the Planning Committee last week.
The usual solution to an overload of substation equipment is to replace it with higher rated equipment or add additional equipment to achieve required performance, Sims said during a presentation that identified the types of equipment typically involved.
Sims said PJM will open a competitive window if an analysis shows that a greenfield project is possible, but the default assumption will be that substation equipment violations be excluded from competition. PJM will seek stakeholders’ endorsement of the OA language next month.
Last month, FERC approved a PJM proposal to exclude from competitive windows upgrades on facilities below 200 kV, which are also unlikely to result in greenfield projects (ER16-1335). (See FERC Orders PJM TOs to Change Rules on Supplemental Projects.)
IRM Study Finds Flattened Load Profile
A study of the installed reserve margin found that the recommended percentage has risen 0.1% to 16.6% since last year. The analysis will establish the initial IRM for the 2020/2021 Base Residual Auction in May and reset the IRMs for delivery years 2017/2018 through 2019/2020.
“The IRM has been quite stable,” PJM’s Tom Falin said.
The analysis found that the August-to-July peak ratio, which measures the August peak as a percentage of the annual peak in July, rose from 95.5% in 2015 to 96.9% this year. The flatter load increased the IRM, but the capacity benefit of ties partially mitigated the increase.
The loss-of-load-expectation risk also was more spread out this summer compared to last year, another factor that increases the IRM. In 2015, 80% of the LOLE risk occurred in the peak week. This year, it dropped to 68% in that week and more shifted to week 12 in early August, where it nearly doubled from 11% to 21%.
RTEP Case Build Scheduled
PJM is requesting feedback by Sept. 23 on draft summer, winter and light load cases for the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan. Updated load profiles and contingencies are scheduled to be released by the end of October, with feedback requested by Nov. 17. PJM is asking that TO-submitted cases provide bus numbers at the primary buses so it can better line up short-circuit and power-flow cases.
“These activities are really central to our ability to … get the whole case-development process moving earlier and have consistency from year to year,” Vice President of Planning Steve Herling said. “This hopefully will put us in a much better position to manage the RTEP cycle [and] all the Order 1000 work, so this is really a big effort for us.”
Input Sought for TEAC Redesign
PJM is seeking stakeholder feedback as it considers a redesign of the Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee. PJM’s Fran Barrett said he envisions a more dynamic system that incorporates video streaming, blogging and social media.
He said his team has younger staff that are familiar with those media. “I have challenged the team … to be industry leading. … This by its very nature introduces generational differences,” he said. “Our processes were built way before Order 1000. Just because this is the way we’ve done things, doesn’t mean it should continue that way.”
─ Rory D. Sweeney