The PJM

I know that I refer to the PJM fairly often lately, but its been quite a while since I covered the basics power, generation and the PJM. The electricity that powers our lives- charges our phones, powers the internet, equipment, lights, homes, office,  air conditioning and soon everything else is there when we need it because of the power grid, an interconnected system that keeps electricity flowing to our homes and businesses every moment of every day. PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission grid operator, works behind the scenes to ensure the reliability of the power grid and to keep the lights on.

PJM began in 1927 when three utilities formed the world’s first continuing power pool to gain the benefit from combining their resources. These utilities connected to each other through high voltage transmission lines, creating an interconnection of resources. Interconnection is a two-way street allowing those who are connected to the grid to take or give power, share resources back and forth as needed. The PJM grid once covered Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland (the source of the initials PJM); but today, the PJM extends into13 states and the District of Columbia: Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

PJM is a regional transmission organization, RTO; and is an independent system operator (ISO) that takes responsibility for grid operations, reliability, and transmission service within their defined geographical region. The North American transmission grid includes all of the United States and most of Canada. It is made up of the nine major RTOs/ISOs. To ensure that these organizations operate efficiently and reliably, the United States government empowers the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) to establish and enforce performance standards for all of them, except for the Texas grid, which the state of Texas regulates separately.

The large size of PJM’s market area increases the diversity of resources available to meet consumer need, providing benefits to both market participants and consumers and enhancing the reliability of the grid. Power pooling provides PJM members the benefit of drawing from electricity resources across a broad geographic area, weather (not everyone is hit with the same storms), and generation sources. This means that if one area is short on resources, resources can be brought in from a different area, to ensure grid reliability.

While some large-scale battery storage options are now available, many are reserved for emergency situations; the vast majority of electricity must be used when it is generated. For this reason, PJM must have generators up and running to supply electricity when outdoor temperatures soar and customers “demand” more power to run air conditioners, or when utilities restore power to a large number of customers after a major storm. Thus, the charts I have occasionally put up of PJM’s forecast of power needs for the next 24-48 hours. PJM forecasts the demand and makes sure the power generation is available to meet that need.