The Center Square reports on the core issues driving demands by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and others for greater state influence and reform in the governance of PJM Interconnection. The article quotes United's Jon Gordon, who emphasized United's support for increased state engagement and advocacy at PJM to ensure the provision of affordable, safe, and reliable electricity for the region's residents and businesses.
Surging electricity demand, an aging grid, and generation sources retiring faster than new ones can be built have become some of the nation’s most pressing challenges.
Although experts agree the solutions are complex, states, frustrated at the lack of progress, are uniting to demand change.
Except, their threats to leave the nation’s oldest power pool, PJM Interconnection, may just prove less effective than it seems, according to some. Leading the exit strategy is Pennsylvania’s Gov. Josh Shapriro, who has long been critical of PJM, which manages the country’s largest power grid that serves 67 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia.
Jon Gordon, policy director for Advanced Energy United, an organization representing a wide range of advanced energy technology and services, told The Center Square that the essence of the problem is PJM’s inability to bring supply on quickly.
A large part of the issue began in 2017 with the shift from large, centralized fossil fuel plants to more distributed and renewable generation, which to some extent, he said, requires almost as much work to evaluate.
Although PJM has made some improvements and things are moving a little more quickly, Gordon said, “they’re digging themselves out of that hole right now.” He noted that some projects have been stuck in the queue for five years.
Another precipitating factor leading to the summit and action by the governors is PJM’s rejection of recommendations for several empty board seats.
Gordon cited the New York ISO, Midwest ISO, and the Southwest Power Pool as examples where governors successfully have a say in who gets appointed to RTO and ISO boards.
“United has always encouraged state engagement at PJM and we support the governors’ stated objective ‘to promote greater state and consumer representation in the governance and decision-making processes of PJM Interconnection, in order to ensure the provision of affordable, safe, and reliable electricity for their residents and businesses,” said Gordon.
He added that United welcomes increased state engagement and advocacy at PJM going forward.
Read the full article here.