PJM Says System Performed Better This Winter Than It Did Last Winter
April 23, 2015
PJM hit a new winter peak demand this winter, but the system performed much better than it did in the winter of 2013-2014, the grid operator’s officials and staff said. Chantal Hendrzak, executive director for operations support, said PJM hit a preliminary peak of 143,826 MW of demand on Feb. 20, compared with 140,510 MW, excluding demand response, during the height of the polar vortex on Jan. 7, 2014. But PJM’s forced outage rate for generators peaked at 13.3 percent on the morning of Feb. 20, compared with 22.2 percent on Jan. 7, 2014. Better awareness, winter testing, winter preparation, and improved communications with PJM contributed to the relative success this winter, Hendrzak said.