In a first-time joint exercise aimed for summer readiness, PJM and the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) completed their first coordinated high-load simulator drill on May 20, PJM said on June 10.
The exercise paired PJM dispatchers and support personnel with NYISO operators and support staff.
Together, they practiced simulated interregional coordination to preserve the reliable flow of power through multiple drill scenarios.
The drill included a number of events, including simulated activation of Northeast Power Coordinating Council shared reserves; New York-New Jersey power-flow coordination; and operations in response to a simulated wildfire threat near a 500 kV tie line.
Key takeaways from the exercises included:
• Operators from both control rooms said coordinating events in a shared simulated environment felt realistic, allowing direct conversations with subject-matter experts and well-timed sequences of simulated events.
• Strong communication was noted between the NYISO and PJM simulator rooms, aided by each entity’s telecommunications group programming of direct-dial lines to NYISO/PJM.
NYISO operates the high-voltage transmission network in New York state. NYISO runs along PJM’s northeastern border and shares tie lines with PJM in northeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Ensuring that power flows reliably across the borders of interconnected grids, also known as seams, is an important function of longstanding interregional coordination between PJM and its neighboring operators, PJM noted.
