pjm

New Jersey lawmakers are exploring whether to legislatively prop up future operation of two nuclear power plants in the state, holding a hearing on December 4 in which key stakeholders sounded off on how nuclear subsidies could affect the environment, the economy, and the power market. The hearing, jointly held by the state Senate Environment […]

A federal appeals court has ruled the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should not have denied a 2012 proposal by PJM in which the regional power operator sought to revise its minimum offer price rule (MOPR). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 7 said FERC went beyond its “passive and reactive role” under […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said PJM can restart two coal-fired units at Dominion Energy’s Yorktown, Va., power plant, two months after the aging units were shut down because they could not meet federal emissions standards. The emergency order from the DOE, issued June 16, allows the units to run during the hot summer […]

The conversation at the ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition, as underscored by comments made in its keynote address and at the annual event’s executive roundtable, was optimistic yet cautious, owing to

Two nuclear plants owned by Exelon Corp. in Illinois and Pennsylvania failed to clear PJM Interconnection’s latest annual capacity auction, putting one of those financially crippled units at risk of early retirement. Meanwhile, procurements for solar, wind, and demand response fell dramatically compared to last year, and drastic price declines could roil the market for […]

The flood of cheap Marcellus Shale gas driving massive construction of new natural gas power generation capacity could wreak havoc in the PJM power market, Moody’s Investors Service suggests in a new report. Two of the nation’s largest power markets, Texas and California, already pose a “distressed environment” for unregulated power companies owing to declining […]

As Dynegy moved this week to assume full ownership of two struggling Ohio coal plants it co-owns with AES Corp. subsidiary DPL Inc., the company’s CEO reportedly said it is mulling withdrawing its presence from downstate Illinois owing to the state’s intervention to keep its nuclear plants running. Dynegy CEO Robert Flexon told Crain’s Chicago Business […]

PJM Interconnection’s independent market monitor is joining the pushback—spearheaded by a trade group and several generators that operate in competitive wholesale markets—against an Illinois law that props up financially distressed nuclear plants with subsidies. Monitoring Analytics on March 16 filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to intervene […]

American Electric Power (AEP) has sold four competitive natural gas and coal power plants‚ a total of 5.2 GW, and plans to invest the proceeds from the sale in its regulated business. AEP completed the sale of the plants to Lightstone Generation LLC, a joint venture of Blackstone and an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners […]

The U.S. market for electricity is trifurcated. More than half the country is served by competitive generators bidding against each other in wholesale markets. Almost half is served by conventional state-regulated, vertically integrated utilities controlling generation and transmission. The rest, a much smaller portion, consists of government-owned and customer-owned utilities, some of which are generators […]

In an effort to become a fully regulated power company, American Electric Power (AEP) has agreed to sell four Midwestern power plants—representing a total of 5.2 GW—to a newly formed joint venture of Blackstone and ArcLight Capital Partners for about $2.17 billion.  AEP will sell: the 1,186-MW natural gas–fired Lawrenceburg Generating Station in Lawrenceburg, Ind. […]

The “polar vortex” storm of January 2014 blew in big changes to PJM Interconnection’s operations. But these changes are now the subject of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, alleging they discriminate against clean energy sources. The sub-zero temperatures froze coal piles and gearboxes. Natural gas plants, lacking firm contracts for fuel delivery, were unable […]

  Even though it may dominate forecasts, natural gas–fired generation faces a troubled expansion in the U.S., according to experts from a variety of stake-holding entities—including an industry group, a utility, a generator, and a pipeline company. Challenges that have few solutions—from price volatility, to gas transport concerns, to rule uncertainty—may upend the nation’s dependence […]

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that a program Maryland initiated in 2012 to subsidize power plant construction impermissibly invaded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) authority over interstate power markets. The case, Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, grew out of a decision by the Maryland Public Service […]

Within the space of less than a week, four deals have been announced that will result in ownership changes at five power plants in the U.S. Northeast. Calpine Buys Another Gas Plant Calpine Corp. announced on Oct. 13 that it has agreed to acquire the Granite Ridge Energy Center, a 745-MW combined cycle gas-fired power […]

In presentations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the nation’s regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) on Sept. 17 outlined measures they are taking to prevent issues if faced with extreme weather this winter.  The measures are to prevent widespread generation outages as occurred during the Jan. 6–7, 2014, polar vortex. […]

Exelon’s embattled nuclear fleet got more bad—though far from unexpected—news on Aug. 21 as the Oyster Creek, Quad Cities, and Three Mile Island nuclear power plants failed to clear in the 2018–19 PJM capacity auction. This means that the three plants will not receive capacity payments during that delivery year. This was despite a big […]

From its modest origins as a way to shed load when the grid is stressed, demand response (DR) has grown to be a significant player in electricity markets. In the PJM region, demand response has accounted for as much as 14,833 MW of capacity, almost 10% of the total. Customer Gains and Generator Losses Demand […]

The effects of the January 2014 polar vortex have led to big changes in the PJM capacity market, as the board has approved changes to tighten up operations and improve reliability. The polar vortex storm of Jan. 6–8, 2014, saw temperatures plunge across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, causing a spike in demand for electricity and […]

American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) Ohio unit has asked the state’s Public Utilities Commission for permission to essentially charge customers for costs to operate nine unregulated coal-fired units, a move the company says will address market volatility and ensure the economic viability of Ohio’s generation.  AEP Ohio on Oct. 3 proposed an “expanded” power purchase agreement […]

Following up on a similar decision in Maryland last month, a federal court threw out New Jersey’s attempt to spur construction of new power plants outside of PJM’s capacity auctions, saying that it was an unconstitutional state attempt to interfere with the wholesale power market. New Jersey’s Long-Term Capacity Pilot Project (LCAPP), enacted in 2011, […]