PJM Weighs Fixing Its Surplus Interconnection Process

PJM Interconnection is considering changes to its surplus interconnection service, a process that has so far produced limited results within its footprint. By comparison, MISO and SPP are studying roughly 15 GW and 14 GW respectively under similar mechanisms, mostly battery storage projects. Observers cited in the reporting say PJM's current rules make it difficult for hybrid projects, such as storage paired with existing generation, to use the pathway effectively. No rule change has been approved; PJM is at the stage of evaluating options to jumpstart the process.

rss · Utility Dive · Aug 21, 12:34

「Why Surplus Interconnection Matters」 Surplus interconnection service allows new generation, often storage, to connect at an existing site by using interconnection capacity that the incumbent generator is not fully using, avoiding the years-long wait and cost of PJM's standard interconnection queue. MISO and SPP have used this mechanism to bring large volumes of battery storage toward study and development faster than the standard queue allows, while PJM's version has attracted comparatively little uptake, largely attributed to rules that do not accommodate hybrid configurations well.

「What This Means for Developers and Asset Owners」 Owners of existing PJM generation sites, especially thermal and existing renewable plants with headroom on their interconnection capacity, should have asset development and regulatory affairs teams track this process, since a rule change could open a materially faster path to add co-located battery storage than the standard interconnection queue. Transmission planning and interconnection groups at generation owners should inventory sites with unused interconnection capacity now, so they are positioned to file promptly if PJM revises the surplus process. Distribution utilities and load-serving entities in PJM's footprint should treat this as an early signal of where incremental storage capacity may materialize on a shorter timeline than queue-based projects, which affects resource adequacy and capacity market planning assumptions.

「What Stands in the Way」 Any change requires PJM stakeholder process and FERC approval before it takes effect, and the current reporting describes an option under consideration rather than a filed or approved tariff revision, so timelines and final rule design remain uncertain.

Tags: #interconnection queue, #PJM, #battery storage, #grid capacity planning, #hybrid resources