Markets and Reliability Committee
Stakeholders Endorse Increased FTR Bid Limit
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — The PJM Markets and Reliability Committee last week endorsed an RTO proposal to increase the maximum number of bids a single corporate entity can enter into financial transmission rights auctions from 15,000 to 20,000.
Market participants had complained that the transition from weekend on-peak and daily off-peak class types made it take a larger volume of bids to buy and sell the same number of hours of an FTR, according to the problem statement adopted by the Market Implementation Committee in December. The change was pursued through the RTO’s “quick fix” process, which allows a proposal to be endorsed concurrently with its issue charge and problem statement. (See “FTR Bid Limit Increase Endorsed Under Fast Track Pathway,” PJM MIC Briefs: Jan. 11, 2023.)
During the MRC’s first read of the proposal, Senior Engineer Emmy Messina said the 20,000 figure was viewed as a balance between the usage of the class types and bid submission performance. The approved manual changes will be effective for the auction occurring in March.
Updated Default CONE and ACR Figures
PJM presented a first read of the updated default gross cost of new entry (CONE) and avoidable-cost rate (ACR) formed through its Quadrennial Review.
Following advisory votes at the MRC and Members Committee, PJM is set to submit a filing with the parameters to FERC. If approved, the values will be in place for the 2026/27 delivery year.
The gross CONE for all resource types, except storage, would increase, which PJM’s Skyler Marzewski said was expected given the tendency for costs to rise, the Inflation Reduction Act’s changes to the investment tax credit and different reference resources for combined cycle and onshore wind facilities.
Stakeholders questioned the nine-fold difference between the proposed net CONE values for fixed solar panels versus those with tracking technology, which Marzewski said is attributed to the higher energy and ancillary services revenues and effective load-carrying capability rating for tracking panels.
The most significant changes to the gross ACRs proposed are the introduction of steam oil and gas as a new resource type, refined property tax and insurance costs, and expanded data from the Nuclear Energy Institute on resource costs. Single-unit nuclear generators would be the only resources to see their default ACR decrease under the proposal.
Members Committee
PJM Board to Review Monitor Contract
PJM Board of Managers Member Paula Conboy | PJM
PJM Manager Paula Conboy told the MC that the Board of Managers plans to review the RTO’s contract with its Independent Market Monitor, Monitoring Analytics.
The contract is up for renewal at the end of 2025. Responding to stakeholder questions, Conboy said that the review is to look at terms and conditions, as well as any areas that may need clarification.
“This is about the terms and conditions of the contract; this isn’t about the IMM [Joe Bowring] himself,” she told the committee. “With the evolving market and so many things changing, we just want to make sure we’re all on the same page about what’s in the contract.”
PJM General Counsel Chris O’Hara said the RTO has not engaged in a pre-emptive review or redline of the contract.
