PJM Capacity Auction Attracts Record Amount Of New Generation
May 02, 2013
PJM’s annual capacity auction attracted a record amount of new generation, as prices dropped in all but one zone. The base residual auction for June 1, 2016, through May 31, 2017, drew record-breaking imports from the Midcontinent ISO (MISO’s new name). The auction procured 5,463 MWs of new generation, beating out last year's record of 5,346 MWs. The market cleared 1,181.3 MWs of generation uprates, more than double last year’s total.Of the new capacity, 3,482.1 MWs qualified for the competitive entry exemption from the minimum offer price rule, and 1,432.5 MWs qualified for the self-supply exemption. Imports doubled from last year’s auction to 7,483 MWs, and capacity from MISO doubled to 4,723 MWs. The auction procured 169,160 MWs, which, including territories that use the Fixed Resource Requirement alternative, makes for a reserve margin of 21.1 percent, or 5.5 percent abovethe target. Capacity prices were lower in all but one utility zone of the RTO, ranging from $59/MW-day to 219/MW-day. Demand response drop after years of growth, but the auction cleared 1,117 MW of energy efficiency – up 21 percent. The highest prices were in PSEG’s territory where the auction cleared at $219/MW-day, up from $167.46 last year.