Dive Brief:
- PJM Interconnection's Board has authorized new regional transmission projects to the tune of $490 million, aimed at strengthening high-voltage infrastructure, resolving reliability violations and offering market efficiencies, Transmission & Distribution World reports.
- The grid operator said it has now authorized $28.3 billion in transmission additions and upgrades since the first plan was approved in 2000.
Dive Insight:
PJM's regional transmission investments continue to grow, and the grid operator says it used two windows of competitive bidding for projects this year. It selected 20 out of 91 proposals from the first solicitation, and staff has now recommended six out of 23 projects proposed in the second bidding window.
The first window, held in June, sought solutions to address potential reliability, thermal and voltage violations identified throughout the PJM system.
“We continue to see a healthy investment in our high-voltage infrastructure with the changes authorized by the board,” PJM COO and Executive Vice President Michael Kormos said in a statement. “Through the competitive windows, we are seeing more alternatives than we would have otherwise. In some cases, as in this last review, we are seeing alternative solutions that address the problem at a lesser cost than originally estimated.”
PJM said it would incorporate all of the approved projects into its Regional Transmission Expansion Plan.
In October, PJM signed off on 11 market efficiency projects expected to cost approximately $59 million, but resulting in more than $800 million in savings.
