State regulators are supporting a pause on the MARL application process to manage grid congestion and ensure reliable power allocation for new large loads.
The Public Service Commission’s Consumer Advocate Division supports a PSC staff recommendation to pause the application process for NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic’s MidAtlantic Resiliency Link Project.
In a Tuesday filing with the PSC, the CAD reviewed the staff motion to toll (pause) the process for at least 60 days, or dismiss the case altogether. It also examined responses from several advocacy groups regarding the motion.
Staff filed its motion on August 19, citing project changes requested by NextEra, new directives from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that introduce uncertainty, and the possibility of constructing another line that would result in duplicative service. The CAD noted that three advocacy groups support the staff motion.
West Virginians Against Transmission Injustice has requested that the application be dismissed without prejudice, meaning NextEra would be permitted to reapply at a later date. The West Virginia Energy Users Group stated it favors a pause because “the staff motion correctly raises questions regarding the potential for unfair cost allocation and cost shifting to West Virginia ratepayers due in part to the FERC’s recent preliminary finding that the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff is unjust and unreasonable. ... Until the issues attendant to changes to the applicable PUM OATT are resolved, the cost impact to West Virginia ratepayers cannot be known.” Meanwhile, Lake O’ Woods Club, representing a residential community potentially impacted by NextEra’s recent proposed route changes, intends to present expert witnesses to address environmental concerns related to the land and the proposed modifications.
CAD stated that staff concerns also merit a pause. Five proposed route changes will affect landowners who were not previously impacted, and these stakeholders require time to review the application and participate in the process. Staff is further concerned by a June FERC order addressing transmission line planning and large load data center customers, alongside FERC’s preliminary finding that PJM’s Open Access Transmission Tariff “appears to be unjust, unreasonable, or unduly discriminatory or preferential.”
According to FERC, PJM’s tariff “lacks adequate mechanisms to mitigate the risk of cost shifting among transmission customers, which may result in unjust and unreasonable rates for transmission service. PJM has been ordered to develop a pro forma cost recovery agreement that ensures eligible customers [such as data centers] bear the risk and are ultimately responsible for costs incurred to provide transmission service, including the cost of network upgrades.” Additionally, CAD noted that a February FERC order “specifically mentions a concern that PJM's existing Tariff lacks clear and consistent provisions to prevent duplicative requests for transmission service.”
A case in point is the proposed 765-kilovolt Joshua Falls-Yeats line by Valley Link. Valley Link describes itself as a partnership between Dominion Energy, Transource (a joint venture between American Electric Power and Evergy), and FirstEnergy Transmission. The Joshua Falls-Yeats line would span 115 miles across Virginia to “deliver reliable power to homes, hospitals, data centers and manufacturers.”
“High-voltage transmission lines permanently alter the landscape and should only be built if they are absolutely necessary,” CAD observed. “FERC’s order 'could significantly alter the way PJM plans transmission upgrades, particularly upgrades driven by data center load growth. Questions of cost allocation, alternatives to transmission lines, duplicative transmission upgrades and questions about PJM's ability to have enough generation to serve new large loads' will all be a part of the FERC inquiry.”
CAD added, “There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of data centers in the PJM region. Before we charge headlong into investing billions of dollars to build [a] major transmissions line to serve these customers, we need to take a pause while some of these uncertainties are resolved.”
The division also raised an independent concern: the planned closure of the Brandon Shores power plant in Maryland was one of the primary drivers for PJM to pursue MARL, but the plant is no longer scheduled to close. Both Brandon Shores and the H.A. Wagner plant in Maryland received a Reliability Must Run extension from FERC, which will keep them operating through at least 2031.
“The addition of the Joshua Falls-Yeats line mentioned by staff and the continued operation of the Brandon Shores and Wagner units are two major developments that could very well obviate the need for MARL, shift its timeline into the future, or open the possibility for reconductoring [upgrading existing transmission line conductors],” CAD concluded. “Without this additional analysis, this is now an incomplete application.”