The Public Utility Commission on Thursday ordered an “(examination of) Pennsylvania’s emergency load control procedures and the allocation of costs associated with large computational loads.” Specifically, the commission wants to update “the order, criteria, and circumstances under which electricity customers may be curtailed during pre-emergency and emergency conditions.
The directive comes amid “growing concern about the balance between rapidly increasing electricity demand and the resources available for (PJM Enterprises) to serve that demand.” PJM’e energy auction in July resulted in a forecast of a shortfall of 6,831 megawatts in the 2028-29 delivery year.
The PUC ordered its Law Bureau and Bureau of Technical Utility Services to prepare a tentative order outlining proposed changes for the October 1st public meeting of the PUC, with a final order up for consideration at the January 27th meeting.
Meanwhile, the PUC also ordered the creation of a “Ratemaking Working Group” to explore “potential improvement to longstanding ratemaking procedures.”
The agency says it wants to examine the “rapidly changing landscape that includes inflation, customer arrearages, supply chain constraints, infrastructure needs, data center development and electric reliability concerns.”
