PJM board announces $1.8 billion for transmission improvements

PJM Interconnection has approved $1.8 billion in electric transmission system additions and grid upgrades to enhance the reliability of its power supply system.

The grid operator’s system serves parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. On Friday, it said the upgrades and improvements authorized by its board comprised dozens of projects. Most new projects were forecast to cost less than $50 million each.

Currently, there are almost 96,000 MW of proposed new generation under development through the interconnection process. About 8,300 MW of projects are under construction.

Since February 2008, when the last major upgrades were authorized, PJM said it had completed 82 interconnection system impact studies, which identified the upgrades required to reliably integrate new interconnections to the PJM system.

System upgrades were authorized for the transmission zones of Atlantic Electric, Baltimore Gas and Electric, Delmarva Power and Light, MetEd, PECO Energy, Penelec, Pepco, PPL, PSE&G, Jersey Central Power and Light, American Electric Power, Allegheny Power System, Commonwealth Edison, and Dominion Virginia Power.

There were no new major backbone transmission infrastructure lines authorized by the board at this time, PJM said.

Source: PJM Interconnection