Stakeholders Endorse Quick Fix Solution to Establish Wildfire Procedures
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — The PJM Operating Committee endorsed revisions to Manual 13: Emergency Operations to add protocols for the RTO and transmission owners to monitor and coordinate actions when wildfires may disrupt infrastructure.
PJM’s Kevin Hatch said the fires in California highlight the need to be prepared and added that the PJM region has seen an increasing number of fires as well.
The language would direct the RTO to run studies to identify transmission assets that may need to be taken offline due to active fires in real-time and in advance, coordinate with TOs regarding canceling scheduled outages and bringing offline lines back to service and consider whether conservative operations may need to be initiated.
Transmission owners would be asked to monitor wildfire red flag warnings and notify PJM of high risk conditions, evaluate outages to determine whether any need to be recalled or rescheduled, identify facilities that may need to be derated due to wildfire impacts, and notify PJM of any circuits that may need to be de-energized due to active fires or to prevent sparking one.
System Performing Well During Cold Weather Advisory
The generation performance and communication between operators and unit owners was strong during the second day of a cold weather alert that was issued for the western region of PJM between Jan. 8 and 10, Hatch told the committee. Units were started early to ensure they would be able to operate as requested and maintenance was rescheduled to ensure availability.
As the cold weather moved in, outages increased by 2 GW, which Hatch said was a strong improvement over the 7 GW increase seen during the January 2024 Winter Storm Gerri.
“That correlates with very good generation performance, so I think that’s something we really need to note. There’s been a lot of work with generators preparing … and that seems to be paying off,” he said.
He noted that more cold weather was on the horizon the following week and generation owners had been asked to move any maintenance scheduled for that period to the preceding weekend. A cold weather alert has been issued between Jan. 14 and 16 for the western region.
December Operating Metrics
PJM’s Marcus Smith said the RTO saw a 1.52% peak hour forecast error rate for December 2024 and an hourly forecast error rate of 1.63%. Five days exceeded the 3% benchmark staff target, with overforecasting on Dec. 12, 23, 25 and 30 and an underforecast on Dec. 31. Loads came in lower on days when temperatures came in warmer than expected or when holidays led to smaller than expected peaks. The forecast models had a large spread of load ranges on Dec. 30 and 31, which he said was due to the aftermath of an unseasonably warm weekend and the holidays.
December saw four shared reserve events, one spin event, one high system voltage action and 16 post contingency local load relief warnings (PCLLRWs). One shortage case was approved Dec. 6 at 5:40 p.m. due to high loads and interchange. The spin event was declared on Dec. 11 at 6:21 p.m. and lasted six minutes. The 1,872 MW of generation assigned had a 73% response rate, while the 643 MW demand response committed had a 112% response.
Winter Voltage Reduction Testing Scheduled for February
PJM plans to conduct an RTO-wide voltage reduction test Feb. 5, with Feb. 12 set as an alternate if there are cold weather alerts, storms expected or other concerns on the earlier date. Regular tests of the capability were one of the recommendations made following the December 2022 Winter Storm Elliott, during which Hatch said dispatchers were one unit trip away from potentially beginning the first voltage reduction action since the 2014 Polar Vortex.
The first test was conducted in two parts Aug. 14 for the mid-Atlantic region and the following day for the west and south. The manuals assume an average peak load reduction of 1.6% across the mid-Atlantic, amounting to 635 MW. However, a reduction of 0.7% or 280 MW was observed during the test.
In the west and south, a 2.2% reduction is expected, or 920 MW, and the test resulted in a 0.85% reduction or 360 MW. Hatch noted the test was not conducted on a peak day, but it revealed TO equipment may need modification to handle an emergency voltage reduction action. Transmission owners also reported to PJM that the test was beneficial for staff education and in identifying improvements that can be made.
