PJM has issued a Cold Weather Alert for the ComEd region for Feb. 14, and for the entire Western region for Feb. 15, amid a frigid weather forecast.
A Cold Weather Alert prepares personnel and facilities for expected extreme cold weather conditions, when actual temperatures fall near or below 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Western region in PJM includes the following transmission zones and control areas:
- American Electric Power (AEP Ohio, Appalachian Power, Indiana Michigan Power and Kentucky Power)
- American Municipal Power Transmission
- ComEd
- Cleveland Public Power
- Dayton Power & Light
- Duke Energy Ohio and Duke Energy Kentucky
- Duquesne Light Company
- East Kentucky Power Cooperative
- FirstEnergy – former Allegheny Power Systems (West Penn Power, Mon Power, Potomac Edison)
- FirstEnergy – former American Transmission Systems, Inc. (Penn Power, Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison)
- ITC Interconnection, LLC
- Ohio Valley Electric Corporation
This Cold Weather Alert comes on the heels of similar alerts issued earlier in the week for the same general areas.
Transmission and generation owners must take extra care to maintain equipment, so that it does not freeze. During a Cold Weather Alert, PJM may also cancel or postpone planned maintenance outages in order to ensure availability of sufficient resources.
PJM’s forecasted winter peak demand is around 136,000 MW, and expects to have 186,000 MW of resources available to meet it. PJM’s all-time winter peak record of 143,434 MW was set on Feb. 20, 2015.
How PJM Prepares for Cold Weather
PJM works with members to prepare for cold weather by testing resources, conducting drills and surveying generators for fuel inventory. PJM’s preparation checklist includes everything from increasing staffing for weather emergencies, maintenance activities and ensuring equipment is ready for winter conditions.
As part of regular winter operations, PJM closely coordinates with natural gas supply and transportation across the region. In addition, PJM also studies unforeseen impacts of possible pipeline service disruptions and subsequent effect on generators, and has found that there are no associated reliability concerns this winter. Learn more about how PJM prepares for winter conditions on the PJM Learning Center. Track grid conditions in real time with the PJM Now app on iOS and Android.
