As temperatures soared into the 80s outside PJM offices last week, stakeholders began debating how to avoid a repeat of the operational problems from last winter.

Operating Committee members discussed a problem statement and issue charge on gas-unit-commitment coordination, a response to PJM’s problems in scheduling gas-fired plants in January.

About one quarter of PJM’s outages on Jan. 7 were the result of gas units’ inability to obtain fuel.

Gas pipeline rules caused delays in the starting of some units and restricted PJM’s ability to dispatch units as needed. The Operating Committee’s initiative will seek methods for gas generators to communicate such operating restrictions to PJM dispatchers.

It will also respond to complaints by about 10 companies that they were left with “stranded gas” when PJM failed to dispatch their units in January. Duke Energy has filed a claim in an effort to recoup $9.8 million in gas losses, and NextEra Energy Resources said it will make a similar claim to recoup $1.3 million. (See PJM Backs Duke’s $9.8M ‘Stranded Gas’ Claim).

“We need to get some changes in prior to next winter, even if we need to segregate short-term [solutions] from long-term,” said Mike Bryson, executive director of system operations. The short-term solution may be a simple clarification of existing rules for RTO dispatchers and generators while PJM develops a long-term solution, he said.

The Operating Committee focused on education and interest identification in last week’s session. It will continue its work in a special meeting June 23.