VALLEY FORGE, Pa. - The PJM Interconnection Board on Friday approved its first 15-year regional electric transmission plan, designed to maintain the reliability of the PJM area transmission system, which serves 51 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia.
As part of the plan, PJM authorized construction of $1.3 billion in electric transmission upgrades, including a 240-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line from southwestern Pennsylvania to Virginia to be constructed by Allegheny Power and Dominion. The total plan upgrades will ensure continued grid reliability through 2011 and are estimated to reduce congestion costs by $200 million to $300 million annually.
To meet long-term needs through 2021, PJM directed additional studies and evaluation of 10 significant transmission line proposals totaling $10 billion of potential new investment, including the high-voltage transmission line projects proposed by American Electric Power, Allegheny Power and Pepco Holdings Inc.
PJM has authorized more than $4 billion of accumulated transmission investment since its planning process began six years ago, resulting in an additional 18,717 megawatts of new generation being interconnected, with 3,777 megawatts of generation now under construction. More than a half-billion dollars in transmission projects have been completed.
PJM Interconnection ensures the reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 51 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the region's transmission grid, which includes 6,038 substations and 56,070 miles of transmission lines; administers the world's largest competitive wholesale electricity market; and plans regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and relieve congestion.
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