Dive Summary:
- Despite Ohio losing 1,400 megawatts (MW) of coal plant power in 2012, the American Transmission System Inc. (ATSI), or the northern Ohio part of the PJM regional transmission system, was able to meet its load demand through transmission upgrades, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has found.
- FirstEnergy retired coal plants making up about 13% of the ATSI's generating capacity. The utility will shutter an additional 885 MW in 2015, leading to a 21% total drop in region's generating capacity.
- After a PJM auction in 2012, PJM identified 35 various transmission projects, totaling more than $5 million each, to mitigate transmission congestion in the ATSI system and reduce the need to build new generating capacity in the region.
From the article:
“A year later, in the May 2013 auction, the ATSI regional clearing price was more in line with the other PJM regions, reflecting these planned transmission upgrades.”