69 legislators from 10 states call on PJM to implement the new FERC Order No. 1920 regarding transmission planning “without delay,” arguing that PJM has “historically” failed to minimize costs, meet the needs of a growing regional economy, and support the clean energy transition in its transmission planning.
“Legislators across this country understand the importance of proactive transmission planning to meet our states’ economic development, climate, and rate-payer protection goals,” said Maryland Delegate Lorig Charkoudian. “We are thrilled that Order 1920 requires the kind of proactive planning that we need from RTO’s. PJM’s historical failures at transmission planning have led to the current concerns about resource adequacy and some of the reliability must run outcomes we are seeing in the region. PJM now has an opportunity to reverse this trend and engage with the spirit as well as the text of Order 1920. With this letter we are urging them to do so, and we stand ready to work with them on this effort.”
Although PJM will not formally file a compliance plan with FERC until next year, the legislators argued there are several actions that the regional transmission organization can take to align itself with the spirit of Order 1920. These actions include building on the planning foundation developed for long-term regional transmission planning (LTRTP) to reflect the “full list of benefits” included in FERC’s order, and beginning to negotiate a cost allocation framework as mandated by the order.
In June, PJM said it will develop a framework for long-term transmission planning as a first step to complying with the recent landmark ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
On May 13, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a ruling, Order No. 1920, meant to improve transmission planning in the United States. Under Order 1920, regional transmission providers must plan ahead at least 20 years. They must conduct this planning at least every five years and incorporate laws and regulations, integrated resource plans, fuel costs, policy goals, and corporate commitments. FERC Chairman Willie Phillips called the ruling a “watershed” moment for the energy transition.
“We firmly support long-term planning, and we support what (FERC) is trying to do to encourage long-term, forward-looking, scenario-based planning,” Paul McGlynn, PJM vice president – planning said at the time. “We’ve been talking about it for quite a while now with our stakeholders and the states and very much believe that it’s something that we need to be doing on a going-forward basis in the planning world.”
New transmission buildout is critical in PJM’s territory, which has developed as a hotbed for data centers in the U.S. Earlier this year, PJM doubled its annual load growth forecast, citing “large, unanticipated” changes caused largely by the influx of data centers. PJM experienced a similar doubling of its 10-year load forecast from 2022 to 2023.
It’s not just load growth— PJM has become notorious for overseeing one of the messiest generator interconnection queues in the country.
More than 3,000 active projects currently sit in the PJM queue— more than ERCOT, CAISO, NYISO, and ISO-New England, combined— according to a recent analysis from Lawrence Berkley National Lab. The time between an interconnection request and an interconnection agreement is longer than any other region, which could threaten the renewable energy goals of states in the region.
