FERC OKs testing rules for PJM demand resources committed for 2023-24, beyond

摘要

Revamped testing requirements for load management resources participating in PJM Interconnection’s wholesale markets took effect June 17, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in an order approving updates to a more than decade-old regime. Load management resources, namely demand resources and price responsive demand, are used in PJM to support grid reliability. They are touted for their ability to give end-use customers control over their electricity costs, and help to defer the need for new generation plants and transmission assets. These resources account for about 5% of committed capacity resources and are expected to become a bigger part of the resource mix as more advanced metering infrastructure is deployed and more state regulators look to retail rate innovations. A June 16 order (ER20-1590) from FERC cleared PJM to move forward with testing enhancements aimed at better demonstrating true load reduction capabilities while balancing the costs of that testing. The commission added that the revisions mitigate the potential for gaming the system by, for instance, “requiring PJM — rather than the curtailment service provider — to schedule tests of load management resources, [preventing] a curtailment service provider from scheduling a test when it may already have planned to have lower load for a particular day.”