Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection

Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection
Name	Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection
Acronym	PJM
Country	United States
Founded	1927 (origins)
Area served	Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina
Capacity	~190 GW (varies)
Headquarters	Audubon, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection

The Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that coordinates wholesale electric transmission and markets across a multi-state footprint in the United States. It administers transmission planning, reliability coordination, and competitive markets linking system operators, utilities, and independent power producers across the Northeast United States, Mid-Atlantic United States, and parts of the Midwest United States.

Overview

The Interconnection operates within the jurisdictional framework of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and interacts with entities such as North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Regional Transmission Organizations, Independent System Operator New England, New York Independent System Operator, and Midcontinent Independent System Operator. Its membership includes investor-owned utilities like Exelon, FirstEnergy, PJM Interconnection, LLC (entity itself), municipals such as Chicago, cooperative utilities represented by American Public Power Association, and generators including NextEra Energy and Calpine Corporation. The organization manages day-ahead and real-time markets similar to mechanisms used by Electric Reliability Council of Texas and leverages planning standards shaped by NERC Reliability Standards, Federal Power Act, and enforcement by FERC Order 888 and FERC Order 2000 precedents.

History and Development

Origins trace to early 20th-century coordination among utilities like Philadelphia Electric Company, Delmarva Power, and Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, influenced by regulatory episodes such as the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 and post-war system growth. Regional coordination accelerated after events including the Northeast Blackout of 1965 and reforms following the Energy Policy Act of 1992, leading to formation of organized markets in the 1990s and consolidation during the 2000s comparable to changes at California Independent System Operator and ERCOT. Legal and market developments involving FERC Order No. 2000 and litigation with entities like PPL Corporation shaped governance, while technological milestones—adoption of supervisory control and data acquisition and phasor measurement units—mirrored modernization efforts at General Electric and Siemens projects.

Infrastructure and Network Components

The system comprises high-voltage transmission lines (345 kV, 500 kV), substations, and bulk-power facilities designed and maintained by utilities including Duke Energy, American Electric Power, Dominion Energy, Public Service Enterprise Group, and Consolidated Edison. Major assets interface with generation portfolios containing fossil units owned by DTE Energy and Northeast Utilities, nuclear stations licensed by Nuclear Regulatory Commission, hydroelectric facilities like those once managed by Tennessee Valley Authority, and growing arrays of renewables deployed by Iberdrola, EDF Renewables, and community projects supported by Sierra Club campaigns. Ancillary components include static var compensators supplied by ABB, series compensation systems, and grid-scale battery storage developed by firms such as Tesla, Inc. and LG Chem.

Operation and Governance

Operational duties follow protocols in coordination with NERC and regional reliability councils including ReliabilityFirst Corporation and Mid-Atlantic Area Council. Governance involves stakeholder committees drawing members from Electric Power Supply Association, consumer advocates like Public Citizen, transmission owners, load-serving entities, and market participants including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs trading desks. Compliance, tariff administration, and planning adhere to precedents set by FERC orders and settlement agreements involving parties such as PJM Interconnection, LLC members, while dispute resolution utilizes independent arbitration processes akin to those in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceedings.

Market Role and Interconnections

The Interconnection operates capacity markets, energy markets, and ancillary service markets that influence investment decisions by firms like Exelon Generation and Shell Energy. It coordinates seams with New York Independent System Operator, ISO New England, and MISO through joint planning and coordinated dispatch, and it participates in east–west transfer arrangements reminiscent of historical ties to PJM East and PJM West configurations. Market design reforms and capacity auctions have drawn scrutiny from state regulators in New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and Maryland Public Service Commission, and legislative initiatives in Pennsylvania General Assembly and New Jersey Legislature have impacted resource adequacy frameworks.

Reliability, Security, and Emergency Procedures

Reliability planning follows contingency standards developed by NERC and implemented with tools from vendors such as Siemens and GE Grid Solutions. Cybersecurity and physical security programs align with guidance from Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, and North American Electric Reliability Corporation directives, and coordination with agencies like FBI occurs during threats. Emergency procedures include load shedding protocols, blackstart plans utilizing units comparable to those at Buchanan Generation Plant, and mutual assistance organized under frameworks like the Mutual Assistance Group and National Mutual Aid processes.

Future Plans and Upgrades

Planned upgrades focus on transmission expansion, incorporation of high-voltage direct current links, grid-scale storage projects, and integration of distributed resources championed by proponents such as American Council on Renewable Energy and Natural Resources Defense Council. Strategic initiatives involve stakeholder-driven proposals filed at FERC, regional transmission expansion studies with participants like Grid United and North American Transmission Forum, and pilot programs leveraging technologies from General Electric, Siemens Energy, and startups funded by Department of Energy grants to enhance resilience, decarbonization, and market efficiency.

Category:Electric power transmission in the United States Category:Regional transmission organizations