PJM approves $1.5 billion in transmission upgrades
The PJM Interconnection has approved more than $1.5 billion in electric transmission upgrades to address reliability issues in multiple areas.
The largest project involves rebuilding and upgrading transmission lines in Burlington, Mercer, and Middlesex counties in New Jersey. Some equipment is more than 80 years old, according to PJM. The project, in the territory of Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G), will upgrade 138 kilovolt (kV) lines in the Metuchen-Edison-Trenton-Burlington corridor to 230 kV. All told, PSE&G will spend more than $900 million in transmission investments approved by PJM.
Other projects include transformer replacements and line rebuilds in the PSE&G, Metropolitan Edison, PPL, American Electric Power, Dominion, and Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky areas.
“The growing need to replace aging infrastructure, energy efficiency and the resulting reduction in the growth of demand for electricity are affecting transmission development,” PJM CEO Andy Ott said in a statement. “The current round of projects approved by the board reflects the trend.”
PJM has now authorized more than $30.8 billion in transmission expansions and upgrades in its Regional Transmission Expansion Plan since 2000. The PJM grid serves 13 states and the District of Columbia, a wide service area that is in continuous need of upgrades and maintenance, as well as new projects in order to prevent future reliability issues.
“Our job is to make sure that the infrastructure all of us count on is sound and delivering power in the safest and most efficient way,” said Ott.
Transmission upgrades are becoming a lucrative business for utilities, which are under pressure from state regulators and grid operators to upgrade their aging power grids. Much of the transmission system slated to be replaced in the new round of PJM-approved projects were built in the 1920s.
Additional PJM-approved projects include $90 million earmarked to install new equipment at four substations to keep systems stable at times of low power load. Those projects are expected to be completed sometime in 2019.
PSE&G executives recently pledged to spend nearly $12 billion on transmission and distribution investments through 2020. These investments have been felt by PSE&G customers recently, who have seen transmission costs rise from 20 percent of their bill in 2000 to roughly 40 percent today.
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