PJM says it is prepared for winter demand

PJM Interconnection, which operates part of the East’s transmission grid, said it is prepared to meet electricity demands this winter.

PJM operates more than 84,236 miles of transmission lines, serving 65 million people in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.

To develop its forecast for winter operations, PJM analyzes weather predictions, the expected demand for electricity, and other factors. PJM forecasts peak demand will be 134,000 megawatts. Demand reached 139,000 megawatts last winter and hit a record 143,295 megawatts in 2015.

This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted a warmer-than-average winter the region PJM serves.

“We’re confident that PJM will be able to serve customer demand reliably this winter,” Michael E. Bryson, senior vice president of operations, said. “Our diverse resource portfolio, healthy reserves, and strong-and-improving generator performance are assets in operating an efficient system, and we collaborate with our generation and transmission owners to prepare for the most extreme cold weather scenarios.”

PJM has more than 187,000 megawatts of resources, including coal, hydropower, natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind, and other resources. The company coordinates with the region’s natural gas supply and transportation companies and studies unforeseen impacts of pipeline service disruptions and the effect on generators as part of winter operations.