Yesterday, the PJM Interconnection announced it expects to have enough power to keep the lights on this summer. PJM expects summer electricity demand to peak at 136,961 MW, down from last year's record peak of 144,644 MW. The organization expects to have 160,680 MW of firmly committed capacity available, with an additional 3,600 MW of additional capacity for peak demand. That brings the region's reserve margin to 18.8 percent for committed capacity and 21.4 percent for total capacity, both of which exceed the required reserve margin of 15 percent. In the PJM region, demand for electricity typically peaks in the summer because of high air conditioning use. PJM also says its reliability-pricing model, in which generators of power commit to PJM for a full year, will begin June 1. Previously, generators could decide daily whether to make their generation available to PJM and to sell it elsewhere. This, PJM officials say, helps ensure the system will meet peak consumer demand.
Last summer, extreme temperatures and humidity across the entire PJM region drove customers' use of electricity to 144,644 MW. PJM says those extraordinary weather conditions were a once-in-35-years event. PJM operates and monitors the grid that serves 51 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.