PJM Ready to Meet Expected Hot Summer Demand
More than 28 percent reserve margin
ready to serve customer needs
News provided by
10:52 ET
VALLEY FORGE, Pa., May 7, 2018
/PRNewswire/ -- With a hotter-than-normal summer forecast, the operator of
the nation's largest electric grid says it has the resources available to meet
the electricity demand and keep power flowing to the 65 million people it
serves.
PJM Interconnection's planners
anticipate electricity use to peak at more than 150,000 megawatts during the
summer months, when the National Weather Service is predicting above-average
temperatures for almost all of the 13 states and District of Columbia served by
PJM and its members.
"PJM continues to ensure that
the power supply is secure and reliable while maintaining efficient and
transparent markets that save billions of dollars for our customers," said
Andrew L. Ott, PJM president and CEO. "We have
planned and prepared for summer operations and we have plenty of reserves to
meet the demand."
The demand last summer peaked at
145,331 MW on July 19. PJM's all-time highest power use was 165,492 MW in
summer 2006.
PJM meets electricity needs by
procuring enough resources to satisfy peak demand plus required reserves at the
lowest reasonable cost through its competitive markets. PJM works with its
members to ensure that power flows where it is needed,
now and in the future, and holds resources, such as generating plants, to
strict standards to deliver electricity as promised.
PJM also has resources on reserve to
cover generation that is unexpectedly unavailable or demand that is higher than
forecasted. PJM's required reserve is 16.1 percent of the forecasted demand
level, and this summer PJM's expected reserve margin is more than 28 percent,
or nearly 41,000 MW. PJM has 184,010 MW of installed generating capacity
available. One megawatt can power about 800 homes.
At PJM control centers, experts
monitor, control and direct the power grid 24/7 with sophisticated technology
to balance supply and demand. They adjust the production of generating plants
to changes in demand, and make sure that no transmission lines or facilities
are overloaded. The system operators also watch for unusual conditions and
react to them to protect the electricity supply.
In protecting the reliability of the
electric system, PJM experts study thousands of scenarios, assisted by computer
simulations to prepare for almost any event. Each variable that conceivably
could affect supply and demand for electricity is carefully assessed – from
extreme weather, emergency conditions and multiple equipment failures to the
more easily anticipated impact of daily, weekly and seasonal cycles in
electricity demand.
PJM exercises a broader reliability
role than that of a local electric utility. System operators monitor the status
of the PJM grid and neighboring systems which gives these experts a big-picture
view of regional conditions and situations that could affect reliability.
PJM Interconnection, founded in 1927, ensures the
reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 65 million people
in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New
Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
and the District of Columbia. PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the
region's transmission grid, which includes over 84,042 miles of transmission
lines; administers a competitive wholesale electricity market; and plans
regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and
relieve congestion. PJM's regional grid and market operations produce annual
savings of $2.8 billion to $3.1 billion. For the latest news about PJM, visit
PJM Inside Lines at insidelines.pjm.com.
SOURCE PJM Interconnection