The decision: According to the waiver request and decision, electric grid provider PJM identified multiple transmission projects that are in line for upgrades ahead of Crane. This work included hundreds of miles of new 765 kV and 500 kV transmission lines. The problem for Constellation is that this work is expected to be completed in late 2030, and the utility feared it would cause delays for Crane.
“Hence, Constellation argues, even if these transmission projects finish on time, Crane’s full deliverability could be in limbo until December 2030, three years or more after Constellation expects it will be ready to generate,” according to the decision.
Constellation’s request for a one-time limited waiver would expedite the process by transferring to Crane the interconnection rights from Eddystone, a six-unit gas- and oil-powered plant in Eddystone, Pa., that was originally scheduled for closure in 2025. A series of orders from the Department of Energy has kept Eddystone operational well into 2026, past its original end date. Constellation executives previously have said that Eddystone can still operate and meet DOE orders without its capacity interconnection rights; under the order, Eddystone is not considered a “capacity resource.”
The rights transfer from one Pennsylvania plant to another would “reduce or eliminate” the number of the transmission projects identified, according to FERC’s decision, and “thereby potentially increase Crane’s interim deliverability and enable Crane to be fully operational before December 31, 2030.”
According to the decision, FERC granted Constellation’s waiver request on the basis that the utility acts in good faith, that the waiver is limited in scope, that the request addresses a concrete problem, and that the issuance of the waiver does not have undesirable consequences like harming third parties.
“Constellation argues that the requested waiver will enable Crane to provide reliability and affordability benefits as quickly as possible to address PJM’s rapid need for new capacity resources, while the Eddystone Units remain available as energy-only resources, as they are today,” the decision reads.
FERC’s response contrasts with that of PJM’s independent market monitor, which can also be found in the June 1 decision. The market monitor argued that Constellation fails to satisfy the criteria for being granted a waiver. Despite the market monitor’s objections, PJM said it did not oppose Constellation’s waiver request but suggested that if FERC approved the waiver request, the “Commission should make clear that such action is limited to the unique facts set forth in the record of this proceeding.”
