PJM has announced that Indian River Unit 4, a coal-fired generator in Delaware owned by NRG, can retire nearly two years ahead of its currently scheduled deactivation without adverse impacts to reliability.
Delmarva Power, the transmission owner in this region, has completed the needed transmission additions that will enable Indian River 4, a 411 MW electrical generator located in southern Delaware, to retire 22 months before its scheduled deactivation date. PJM, in coordination with Delmarva Power, has made the determination that Indian River 4 is no longer needed for the reliability of the electricity grid.
In June 2021, NRG notified PJM of its intention to retire Indian River 4 in 2022. Based on this notification, PJM conducted a reliability analysis, which indicated that the unit’s removal would lead to grid reliability issues and identified a series of transmission solutions to address those issues.
Based on the estimates for engineering, design, siting, permitting and construction, PJM estimated that the unit would be needed through the completion of necessary transmission upgrades in December 2026. PJM formally requested of NRG to continue to operate the unit during this time frame to provide critical energy, voltage and reactive power support under a Reliability Must-Run (RMR) arrangement. NRG agreed under a rate schedule approved by FERC.
As of Dec. 18, 2024, Delmarva Power completed the Vienna-Nelson line upgrade, the final segment of the necessary transmission upgrades that will allow Indian River 4 to be removed from the system without causing grid reliability issues. PJM has therefore notified NRG of its intent to terminate the RMR arrangement.
The RMR arrangement will terminate officially in February 2025, approximately 22 months ahead of schedule. Terminating the RMR arrangement early will save consumers nearly two years of avoided RMR payments. The final determination of the total savings will depend on FERC’s approval of a proposed settlement rate.
“Delmarva’s good work to complete this project far ahead of schedule is a win for our customers, both from a reliability and affordability perspective,” said Mike Bryson, Sr. Vice President – Operations. “PJM regards RMR arrangements as a last resort to keep units temporarily operational to maintain system reliability while we make transmission improvements to balance the system, so the sooner we can get the work done, the better.”
Bryson thanked NRG for extending the operational life of the unit by more than 30 months to help PJM preserve system reliability, as well as Delmarva Power owner, Exelon, for working diligently to get the transmission upgrades into service well ahead of schedule.
Source: PMJ