DeWine wants ‘more open dialogue’ with Ohio’s grid operator

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants “a more open dialogue” between governors and the regional transmission organization that serves Ohio and a dozen other states.

In a letter to Jeanine Johnson, chair of the PJM Interconnection committee working to fill vacancies on its board, DeWine joined a request made by a bipartisan group of governors from states served by the regional transmission organization.

“While PJM is ultimately responsible for supplying reliable power to more than 65 million customers, when the power goes out, citizens hold their local and state government officials responsible,” DeWine wrote. “Therefore, Ohio and other states have a vested interest in ensuring the grid is built efficiently and reliably. An established forum for governors to offer input into PJM decisions would help ensure individual states are not left out of important conversations and would allow state executives to offer insight into how PJM actions could impact citizens.”

The Buckeye State’s Republican governor said vacancies on the PJM Board of Managers allow the grid operator to appoint two bipartisan members. Ideally, those members should understand and “incorporate states’ perspectives in balancing energy affordability and dependability amid increasing load growth, competing state and federal policy preferences, and lagging or diminishing supply resources.”

“By working collaboratively, we can help ensure that the grid remains reliable, resilient, and responsive to evolving demands,” DeWine wrote.

The bipartisan group of governors from Delaware, Kentucky, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia previously wrote to PJM, calling on the grid operator to make fundamental changes and appoint new leadership to “restore confidence in its ability to meet the ongoing energy affordability crisis and resource adequacy demands,” according to a release.

“As a bipartisan coalition of Governors, we are standing together to call on PJM to pick thoughtful new Board members who will prioritize our states and the people we serve at the forefront of their work to help us lower costs and ensure our families and businesses have the energy they need,” Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a release.

“It is long past the time for real grid reforms that allow our region to compete at the speed of business and build a system that delivers affordable, reliable power for the people and businesses PJM serves,” Shapiro added. “I am hopeful that this historic collaboration between the PJM states will provide the opportunity to foster a stronger, collaborative partnership between PJM and the 67 million people it serves to chart a strong energy future together.”

Last month, PJM sent a “Maximum Generation Emergency Alert,” asking power generators “to be ready to operate at maximum capacity if needed.” At the time, energy demand was predicted to surpass the grid operator’s original estimate for the summer, and it could reach a point where it would pay customers to reduce their energy usage.

In May, PJM said “extreme scenarios featuring record demand” could require it “to call on contracted demand response resources to reduce electricity use.” The grid operator predicted summer energy use, or load, would peak at slightly more than 154,000 MW, adding that it “should have adequate reserves to maintain reliability.”

However, in May, the operator gave a caveat, saying: “This season also marks the first time in PJM’s annual assessment, however, that available generation capacity may fall short of required reserves in an extreme planning scenario that would result in an all-time PJM peak load of more than 166,000 MW.”

In its May release, the grid operator acknowledged, “Under such circumstances, PJM would call on contracted demand response programs to meet its required reserve needs.”

The PJM prediction aligns with an earlier finding in the Energy Competitiveness Report, published by the Ohio Business Roundtable. It found that PJM could face an electricity shortfall by 2027.