On July 7, 2020, the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) Planning Committee held an informational session on its State Agreement Approach, a transmission planning process that allows one or more states to request the studying and funding of new transmission projects within the PJM footprint to address identified public policy needs. The State Agreement Approach could help accommodate the anticipated growth in offshore wind generation by allowing states to submit transmission expansion or extension projects in the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (“RTEP”) so long as the states agree to assume responsibility for project costs.
PJM’s initial Order No. 1000 compliance filing, which FERC largely accepted in 2013, included the State Agreement Approach as a voluntary option for project selection and cost allocation. As FERC found in its 2013 order, the State Agreement Approach supplements, but does not conflict or otherwise replace PJM’s process to consider transmission needs driven by public policy as required by Order No. 1000. PJM’s normal RTEP process otherwise considers general public policy project benefits within the confines of its reliability or economic cost allocation method.
The July 7 PJM Planning Committee stakeholder meeting walked through the State Agreement Approach, which is set out in more detail in Schedule 6 of the PJM Operating Agreement, Schedule 12(B) of the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”), and in PJM Manual 14B. The Planning Committee also provided several public policy examples that could result in a State Agreement Approach proposal, including renewable goals and carbon reduction emissions, storage deployment goals, grid hardening and reliability, or electric vehicles. Interested parties should consult the PJM Planning Committee events calendar for any additional informational sessions.
A copy of the presentation can be found here.