The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Sept. 29 issued an order on PJM’s proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement (RBP) to secure additional power supply to address short-term reliability concerns.
The Order accepts PJM’s proposal but suspends it for five months with an effective date of Feb 28, 2027, subject to refund and outcome of additional proceedings.
PJM did not proceed with the Reliability Backstop Procurement on Sept. 30 as originally planned. All timeline milestones previously communicated for the RBP will be reviewed and further communicated with stakeholders at a later date, the grid operator said.
PJM will provide a brief administrative update at the upcoming Market Implementation Committee meeting scheduled for Oct. 7, 2026.
PJM issued the following statement following FERC’s order:
“PJM welcomes FERC’s acceptance of our reliability backstop procurement proposal and shares the Commission’s recognition of the urgent need to address the capacity shortfall facing the PJM region. While FERC identified three discrete issues requiring further consideration, the Commission also provided a clear path to resolving those issues expeditiously and moving the procurement forward."
PJM is reviewing the order and intends to work quickly to address the Commission’s remaining concerns.
"We remain focused on advancing solutions that maintain reliability, appropriately allocate costs to the customers driving those costs, and protect consumers as the region navigates significant demand growth. As a result, the RBP process will not begin on Sept. 30 based on the requirements of FERC’s order. Actual timing is to be determined," it said.
PJM proposed the one-time Reliability Backstop Procurement to secure new eligible capacity resources. The RBP is a one-time transitional measure to safeguard resource adequacy, support the Interim Resource Adequacy Service (IRAS), and allows time for a broader review of market fundamentals and investment incentives.
The process is proposed to work in tandem with ongoing bilateral contract matchmaking, already underway, to facilitate voluntary arrangements between new supply resources and new Large Load customers.
Only new supply resources are eligible to participate in both the RBP and bilateral matchmaking processes. All new resources must commence commercial operation no later than June 1, 2032.
To avoid double procurement, new confirmed bilateral contracts of new supply are eligible to offset the initial procurement target.
