PJM’s dedicated team of operators, in coordination with PJM members, balanced supply and demand to dispatch uninterrupted power in 2024, operating reliably throughout the year’s toughest weather.
A review of Winter Storm Gerri from January revealed strong generator and transmission performance, accurate load forecasting and successful coordination with neighboring grid operators.
PJM served electricity demand, or load, of approximately 133,597 MW on Jan. 17, registering the winter season’s peak. That day also demonstrated notable generator performance. Compared with Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022, when generation outages reached as high as 46,000 MW, generation experienced forced outages of just over 16,000 MW.
The PJM system also observed fewer cold weather disruptions during Gerri, and improved cold weather preparedness reported by more than 400 generators in advance of Gerri contributed to this enhanced overall reliability.
On April 8, PJM was faced with a rare total solar eclipse. The PJM load forecast for this milestone event accurately accounted for load decreases caused by school closings, cooler temperatures as skies briefly darkened and eclipse-driven changes to consumer behavior. PJM operators maintained system frequency with coordination from member generators and transmission owners. Dispatch of on-demand generation resources helped account for a lapse of about 6,200 MW of grid-connected solar. The eclipse also drove decreases in behind-the-meter (rooftop) solar of approximately 4,900 MW.
PJM observed a warm June and July, reaching a 2024 summer peak energy usage of about 152,666 MW on July 16 – roughly 6,000 MW higher than the 2023 summer peak. In order to serve this summer demand, successful coordination took place with unit owners – particularly around rescheduling of maintenance outages. In August, PJM issued a Maximum Generation Emergency/Load Management Alert, a procedural step PJM issued to alert neighboring entities that it may need to reduce non-firm exports to maintain PJM’s reserves.
PJM also issued its first Cold Weather Advisory and Cold Weather Alerts of the 2024/2025 winter season for Dec. 12–13.
PJM Emissions Marked All-Time Low
Average rates of generator emissions for carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide declined to a record low, PJM reported last year. Between 2005 and 2023, carbon dioxide generator emissions dropped 43%, while nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides fell 90% and 96%, respectively. The drop in emissions is tied to the replacement of coal and oil units with natural gas and renewable generation resources, with PJM’s competitive wholesale energy markets incenting the retirement of older, less efficient units and investment in lower-emitting, more efficient resources.
System Enhancements Serve Efficient Grid Operations
PJM in 2024 implemented operating policies and procedures to enhance the reliable dispatch of power. For example, PJM conducted its first-ever voltage reduction action tests with transmission owners. These tests successfully validated techniques to reduce sub-transmission-system voltage in concert with transmission owners in order to reduce system load and increase transmission transfer capability, fulfilling a recommendation from the Winter Storm Elliott report. Future voltage reduction tests are planned to be incorporated into operations procedures.
In its ongoing efforts to improve gas-electric coordination, PJM joined regional transmission organizations ISO-NE, MISO and SPP in publishing a position paper intended to identify for state and federal policymakers challenges whose resolution would enhance the reliability for the benefit of both gas and electricity customers. The four organizations serve more than 40% of the U.S. population in 35 states and the District of Columbia.
The paper suggested potential initiatives that can improve the reliability and efficiency of commodity supply and delivery for each industry. The recommendations can be flexibly adopted by each region along with overarching national issues that would benefit from coordination among state and federal regulators and stakeholders.
Looking Ahead
PJM expects to continue to meet demand, though generator retirements and growing need for power erode levels of reserves. PJM shared its concerns that new generation is not coming online fast enough to meet retiring resources – a trend faced by grid operators across the U.S.
Aftab Khan, PJM Executive Vice President – Operations, Planning & Security, testified about growing operational complexity, increasing load and the need to maintain resource adequacy Oct. 16 before the annual Reliability Technical Conference at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
As PJM prepares for a possible generation shortfall in coming years, PJM is also undergoing a profound shift in operations, Khan said. Different physical attributes of mostly intermittent resources include limited dispatchability and contribution to voltage support, load following and stability. Multiple megawatts of these renewable power resources will be required to replace each megawatt of retiring thermal generators, Khan said.