By Suzanne Herel

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday said it needed more time to consider rehearing requests of its June 9 order largely approving PJM’s Capacity Performance plan after receiving a flurry of feedback from state regulators, consumer advocates, generators and the Independent Market Monitor.

The order is only a procedural motion; without commission action within 30 days of a rehearing request, the request is automatically denied.

“In order to afford additional time for consideration of the matters raised or to be raised, rehearing of the commission’s order is hereby granted for the limited purpose of further consideration,” it said. “Rehearing requests of the above-cited order filed in this proceeding will be addressed in a future order.” No answers to the rehearing requests will be entertained, it said.

PJM’s new Capacity Performance product, a response to poor generator performance during the polar vortex of January 2014, aims to increase reliability by rewarding over-performing participants and penalizing non-performers. (See FERC OKs PJM Capacity Performance: What You Need to Know.)

In seeking a rehearing of FERC’s approval, generators sought to relax the penalty provisions.

Some regulators and consumer advocates asked FERC to order PJM to update its peak load forecasts, saying such a move could save consumers about $625 million by reducing the amount of capacity procured. (See Regulators, Generators, IMM Seek Changes to PJM Capacity Performance Order.)

The PJM Industrial Customer Coalition, environmentalists, regulators and consumer advocates asked that demand response be allowed to participate in the transition auctions. On July 23, FERC issued a ruling ordering PJM to include DR and energy efficiency, thus delaying the auctions. (See FERC Orders PJM to Include DR, EE in Transition Auctions.)

Essential Power, Competitive Power Ventures, NextEra Energy and Invenergy Thermal Development contested FERC’s decision to eliminate monthly stop-loss limitations and said the commission erred in deciding that generator non-performance would not be excused, even in circumstances beyond their control.