If you've been following along on the Primary Power SVC issue at PJM that we've featured here and here, your wallet should be thrilled that PJM has awarded the projects to incumbent transmission owners FirstEnergy and Dominion.
As you will recall, Primary Power claims to have spent $5M developing this project over the past few years in cooperation with PJM engineers, and they were awarded a 200 basis point incentive by FERC for the project in 2010.
Meanwhile, a couple of PJM's favored incumbent utilities have swooped in at the last minute and taken the project away from Primary Power. As I recall, the last letter Primary Power sent to PJM's Board of Managers was cc'd to their attorney.
The cartel has placed themselves in a precarious legal position, but that's nothing new. As we've seen many times before, they will stoop to amazing depths of depravity in order to make sure their favored "stakeholders" continue to receive all the tastiest morsels. Apparently "right of first refusal" (where incumbents get first crack at needed upgrades) isn't dead at PJM, despite FERC doing away with it in Order No. 1000.
Now, here's the stupidest part of the whole thing (and where your wallet comes in). If Primary Power ends up filing a lawsuit against PJM and is successful, guess who will pay the award? YOU will! That's right, because PJM is a "not-for-profit" and generates no profits, you ratepayers are PJM's piggy bank. So, let's assume the court sees fit to punish PJM for their arbitrary and capricious award of the SVC projects... PJM doesn't care because they will just pass any punishment on to you in the form of a higher electric bill.
The cartel has got to go.
As you will recall, Primary Power claims to have spent $5M developing this project over the past few years in cooperation with PJM engineers, and they were awarded a 200 basis point incentive by FERC for the project in 2010.
Meanwhile, a couple of PJM's favored incumbent utilities have swooped in at the last minute and taken the project away from Primary Power. As I recall, the last letter Primary Power sent to PJM's Board of Managers was cc'd to their attorney.
The cartel has placed themselves in a precarious legal position, but that's nothing new. As we've seen many times before, they will stoop to amazing depths of depravity in order to make sure their favored "stakeholders" continue to receive all the tastiest morsels. Apparently "right of first refusal" (where incumbents get first crack at needed upgrades) isn't dead at PJM, despite FERC doing away with it in Order No. 1000.
Now, here's the stupidest part of the whole thing (and where your wallet comes in). If Primary Power ends up filing a lawsuit against PJM and is successful, guess who will pay the award? YOU will! That's right, because PJM is a "not-for-profit" and generates no profits, you ratepayers are PJM's piggy bank. So, let's assume the court sees fit to punish PJM for their arbitrary and capricious award of the SVC projects... PJM doesn't care because they will just pass any punishment on to you in the form of a higher electric bill.
The cartel has got to go.
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