VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — PJM members last week approved manual and Tariff changes dictating the ramp rates Capacity Performance resources will have to meet to avoid penalties during performance assessment hours.

PJM said it found that many generators are able to increase their output faster than reflected in the ramp rates plant operators entered in Markets Gateway. The new rules will measure generators against the unit’s actual ramp performance between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2016 (or June 1 to Aug. 31, 2015, for units not dispatched in the first three months of this year).

Units would be excused from penalties if they are following PJM dispatch or had approved outages.

The approach is a short-term solution that PJM hopes to have in place before the delivery year starts June 1.

The Markets and Reliability and Members committees will be asked to endorse the changes on March 31, following a special OC session highlighting ramp rate examples on March 22.

PPL SPS to be Removed

A special protection scheme to prevent generator instability if the Susquehanna-Wescosville 500-kV line ever fell onto the Susquehanna-Harwood 230-kV lines is no longer needed with the addition of the Lackawanna-Hopatcong 500-kV line, according to PPL. The SPS — which would have resulted in tripping Susquehanna Unit 1 — will be removed during an outage of the nuclear unit and should be complete by April.

Dominion Zone SPS Retired

A special protection scheme installed in 2007 in the Dominion zone was retired last month. The SPS addressed potential thermal overloads on the Carolina-Kerr Dam 115-kV line. The scheme is no longer needed with the completion of Regional Transmission Expansion Plan project b1793 to rebuild Kerr Dam-Carolina line 22 and project b1793.1 to remove the Carolina 22 SPS.

– Suzanne Herel