The Stability of the PJM Grid
ARIANNA WHITEHAIR
Everyone knows with the holiday season comes a multitude of dazzling Christmas lights , brightly lit decorations and a need for warmth as the cold , wintry weather sets in . In December 2022 , an extreme , unprecedented drop in temperature forced excessive use of indoor heat by consumers and strained the regional transmission organization ( RTO ) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states , including West Virginia and the District of Columbia . This RTO , known as PJM Interconnection , traces its name to the abbreviation for Pennsylvania , New Jersey and Maryland , where the first utilities joined together .
“ PJM traces its roots to 1927 when three utilities , realizing the reliability benefits and cost efficiencies possible by interconnecting to share their generating resources , formed the world ’ s first connecting power pool ,” says Asim Haque , vice president of state and member services for PJM .
Today , PJM has more than 1,000 members . The largest wholesale electricity market in the world , PJM works behind the scenes to coordinate and direct the flow of electricity to keep the lights on for 65 million consumers .
“ PJM does not own power lines or generators . Instead , it is a profit-neutral , regulated organization that directs the operation of power lines and generators ,” says Haque . “ PJM ’ s most important job is maintaining grid reliability , and we are committed to strengthening the reliability and long-term resilience of the grid under a wide range of extreme scenarios , including the severe winter weather we have recently seen in other parts of the country .”
Many West Virginians may remember receiving a message from Appalachian Power around Christmastime about the importance of reducing electricity usage to ensure the grid was able to continue running efficiently . Appalachian Power and other utilities in the PJM region anticipated the energy demand to increase during this period as families gathered for Christmas celebrations and the frigid temperatures lingered .
While the Mountain State was fortunate not to endure a blackout , other states in the Appalachian region were not so lucky . While PJM did not have electricity interruptions , Tennessee experienced a series of rolling blackouts around the same time , leaving thousands of residents without power in the midst of below-freezing weather conditions . Though Tennessee is not included in the PJM footprint , this story serves to reiterate the importance of conserving power and doing our part while also opening our eyes to the potential detrimental effects of rolling outages .
“ The extreme arctic weather event on Christmas Day tested the resiliency of the region ’ s grid and negatively affected all power generation sources ,” says Rebecca McPhail , president of the West Virginia Manufacturers
WWW . WVEXECUTIVE . COM SPRING 2023 67