Operations

MEETING CRITICAL

NEEDS

PJM and its members and stakeholders continuously plan, prepare and coordinate operations to meet the critical need for electricity for 65 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia, no matter the weather or unforeseen system conditions.

The 1,436 electric power generators and 85,103 miles of transmission lines in the PJM region are owned by a wide range of public utilities and independent companies. As a federally designated grid reliability authority, PJM coordinates the operation of these facilities on a moment-by-moment basis using a principle referred to as Security Constrained Economic Dispatch.

COVID-19

During the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, PJM took many proactive steps to safeguard our employees, the grid and our campuses and reliably operate the high-voltage electric system.

2021 COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights

PJM's internal Incident Response Team met regularly on pandemic-related issues and kept employees and stakeholders informed.
Our electricity markets and the bulk power system continued normal operations.

PJM remained in close communication with regulatory, industry and government entities.
PJM supported all market applications from our campus and remotely.
PJM sequestered teams from operations from December 2020 through March 2021 and operated out of three different control rooms for the second time during the pandemic.

For employees not working on our campuses, PJM continued its remote work posture and virtual stakeholder meetings throughout 2021.
In July 2021, PJM conducted a three-week pilot program for employees on its Valley Forge campus, which made it easier to return to campus.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement Established

In late fall, PJM announced it would require COVID-19 vaccination for all on-campus personnel and for in-person attendance at PJM facilities or events, effective Jan. 4, 2022.

The COVID-19 vaccine requirement applies to employees, contractors, vendors, members and other stakeholders who visit a PJM campus or attend any in - person PJM event, on or off campus.
Virtual attendance options remain available for stakeholder and member meetings.

Flexible and Informed Approach

PJM's COVID-19 plans were conducted in a phased approach that is continuously informed and refined with guidance from:

Pennsylvania governor's office on COVID-19
Pennsylvania Department of Health
Montgomery County, PA
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

PJM Pandemic Plan
PJM business impact assessment
PJM epidemiologist consultant

Summer Reliability

Peak load conditions typically take place during the hottest weather of the year. PJM and its members continually coordinated to prepare for peak load operations throughout 2021.

By summer, the energy impacts surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, and demand for electricity began to return to normal. PJM’s Load Forecast Report estimated that summer demand in 2021 would exceed that of 2020.

PJM has more than 185,000 MW of installed generating capacity.

1 MW powers about 800 homes.

PJM’s all-time, one-day highest power use was set in 2006 at 165,563 MW.

In 2020, COVID-related impacts decreased summer demand, resulting in a peak of approximately 144,000 MW.

PJM forecasted the 2021 summer peak to be about 149,000 MW.

Peak demand for the summer of 2021 was approximately 148,770 MW, which was an increase from the 144,588 MW peak demand from summer 2020.

“Keeping the power flowing and the grid reliable is the core mission for PJM and our member companies. We understand the critical importance that electricity plays in the daily lives of the 65 million people we serve.”

Manu Asthana, President & CEO

Prepared For Winter

Each year, PJM collaborates with members and stakeholders to perform winter readiness assessments and exercises well in advance of cold weather. Peak season preparations include the winter operations forecast. To prepare for winter, PJM analyzes the expected demand for electricity, weather predictions and other factors. Long before temperatures fell, PJM enhanced its winter preparedness to reflect dynamic market conditions, surveyed for fuel supply concerns and implemented lessons learned from extreme cold weather events in early 2021.

Cold Snap Drove Record Exports

As severe winter weather took hold in mid-February and disrupted grid reliability in Texas, the Midwest ISO region and the Southwest Power Pool region, PJM and its members maintained the reliable operation of the bulk power system in our footprint.

At the same time, PJM exported record amounts of electricity to support increased demand experienced by neighboring grid systems and states.

Prior close coordination by PJM members and other stakeholders to prepare for unforeseen outages or system disruptions positioned PJM to provide this critical assistance.

During winter storm Uri, PJM exported

15,763 MW

on Feb. 15, 2021.

COLD WEATHER ALERTS ISSUED IN FEBRUARY

PJM’s all-time winter peak of about 143,295 MW was set on Feb. 20, 2015.

PJM's 2020/2021 winter peak was approximately 117,000 MW.

To support neighboring systems during the "February Freeze" event of 2021, PJM exported a high of 15,700 MW, more than doubling the amount of exports on a typical day. As the 2021/2022 winter approached, PJM had more than 185,000 MW of available resources.

169,682 MW of estimated available generation represented committed capacity resources.

For the 2021/2022 winter, PJM forecasted a peak winter demand of about 133,000 MW.

Extreme Weather Analysis Drives Close Coordination for Winter 2021/2022

Preparing for winter is a team effort.

PJM's preparation checklist for generation and transmission owners includes everything from increasing staffing for weather emergencies to performing required maintenance activities to prepare equipment for winter conditions. Review of these winter procedures and preparations with federal and state regulators and neighboring grid operators are a fundamental part of PJM's winter preparations.

In addition, PJM conducts weekly review meetings with major natural gas pipeline operators serving natural gas-fired generators in the PJM footprint. This regular cadence of communication coordinates operations with the pipelines critical to PJM's gas generation fleet.

To help ensure critical supplies are in place, PJM also collects and assesses data on multiple factors, including:

Fuel inventories
Supply and delivery characteristics
Emission limits
Minimum operating temperatures

When preparing for the 2021/2022 winter, PJM and its stakeholders partnered to expand the playbook for winter preparedness. Extensive industry and government studies of severe cold weather issues in Texas and southwest states resulted in additional precautionary measures to ensure the reliable flow of power:

Coordinating with transmission owners to identify and prioritize electric service for critical facilities in emergencies
Collecting more information from suppliers to address potential fuel supply concerns
Enhancing coordination with the natural gas industry
Implementing weekly data requests for assessment of fuel availability
Studying load shed procedures to ensure reliable power to critical load

Supply Chain Issues Addressed for Reliability

To enhance critical reliability tools, temporary changes to PJM Emergency Operations procedures were approved by stakeholders in the fall of 2021. Spurred by volatile commodity markets affecting coal and natural gas supplies worldwide, temporary changes to PJM Manual 13 granted needed flexibility to manage generation dispatch in response to possible local or regional reliability concerns resulting from fuel supply shortages.

The changes were designed to help in the event of potential fuel supply shortages or extreme weather.

“These enhanced, coordinated efforts were incredibly helpful as we worked with our stakeholders to prepare for a reliable and resilient system even in the most extreme weather conditions.”

Mike Bryson, Senior Vice President – Operations