PJM Capacity Auction results offer latest evidence there is no grid reliability emergency
Over the past year, there’s been no shortage of debate about grid reliability, particularly across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. A growing list of experts have declared the grid reliable.
- “PJM has been ensuring the reliability of the grid for the last almost 90 years and it continues to do so, said PJM Independent Market Monitor Joe Bowring. “The grid is reliable and resilient, although resilience remains to be defined.”
- “The PJM region is reliable, and its competitive markets have been instrumental in helping ensure reliability,” PJM has said.
- The auction “indicates that these units are doing alright in PJM, and it certainly pours some cold water on arguments in favor of providing subsidies for coal units,” said Robbie Orvis of the clean energy consulting firm Energy Innovation.
New PJM auction results confirm these findings.
PJM, the grid operator charged with keeping the lights on across 13 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states as well as the District of Columbia, just released auction results for the 2021-2022 time frame. Importantly, its reserve margin during those years will be 21.5%, substantially higher that the 15.8% reserve requirement PJM says it needs to ensure reliability.
In short, there’s no crisis.
Wind is adding low-cost, reliable electricity to PJM– it will grow by 37% according to this week’s results.
Both the data and the experts are in alignment: our grid is as reliable as ever, and it continues to get cleaner every year. That’s a win-win for all American families and businesses.
