PJM will suspend its Day Ahead market if it loses Internet service under the outlines of a contingency plan approved by the Market Implementation Committee March 6.

PJM’s Tariff and Operating Agreement do not specify procedures for responding to an extraordinary event, such as an Internet failure, that disables the RTO’s eMKT application. Under the problem statement approved by the MIC, all market settlements would be done in real time in such circumstances.

The plan assumes that PJM’s internal processes are working but that eMKT and other Internet-based services are not functioning, said Stu Bresler, PJM vice president of market operations. Generator dispatch may be based on the most recent offers received by PJM before the loss of the web, Bresler said.

The problem statement will be considered next by the Markets and Reliability and Members committees. Changes to the Tariff and Operating Agreement are expected to be completed by July.

PJM Contact: Ray Fernandez