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Dominion Completes Successful Integration into PJM RTO

New milestones in reliability, economic benefits and market efficiency were achieved recently with the integration of Dominion, the largest utility in Virginia, into the PJM regional transmission organization (RTO). The Dominion integration, which follows the integration of the Commonwealth Edison, American Electric Power and Dayton Power & Light transmission systems during 2004 and Duquense Light in 2005, concludes a year of rapid growth for PJM, in which it more than doubled in size.

Dominion Chairman and CEO Thomas E. Capps said in a news release regarding the integration, “This is good news for Dominion, our customers and shareholders. Integration into PJM benefits customers by improving reliability, enhancing planning and resource adequacy, and improving access to economic power supplies.”

On May 1, 2005, PJM began managing the dispatch of generation and the flow of wholesale electricity over Dominion’s 6,000-plus miles of high-voltage transmission lines. PJM also began administering open, competitive wholesale electricity markets in Virginia and a small portion of electricity for energy, capacity and ancillary services. Dominion has a national electricity portfolio of more than 28,000 megawatts (MW).

With the integration, PJM now has a peak load of more than 131,000 MW and an expanded market that serves 51 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia. PJM Southern Region President James D. Hinton said, “More than 20 percent of the U.S. economy now depends upon the reliable service we provide, and we are delighted to extend to the Dominion territory in Virginia and North Carolina the proven benefits of wholesale competition.”

Customers in the region will now have much greater access to the lowest-cost sources of supply. Further benefits will accrue through greater market liquidity and price transparency, allowing utilities and other suppliers to manage their risks more efficiently. “PJM’s size and scale allow us to more effectively enhance reliability and competitive electricity markets,” said Hinton.

Dominion’s integration into PJM involves transferring operational control, but not ownership, of the company’s transmission assets.