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PUCO Files Comments in Support of PJM’s Proposal to Establish an Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT) for New Generating Facilities
On March 20, 2026 the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s Office of the Federal Energy Advocate filed comments in support of PJM’s proposal to Establish an Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT) for new generating facilities under ER26-1563-000.
As reported previously on February 27, 2026, pursuant to section 205 of the Federal Power Act, and part 35 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulations, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) submitted proposed revisions to the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff (Tariff) to establish an Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT) for new generating facilities.
In its filing PJM states that the EIT process is part of a multi-pronged approach to addressing regional resource adequacy challenges, noting “there is an urgent need to bring new Capacity Resources online in the PJM Region to ensure grid reliability, resource adequacy, and energy affordability in the next three years.”
Under the EIT process, PJM would consider up to 10 interconnection requests per calendar year on an expedited basis for new large or uprated capacity resources meeting stringent application requirements to ensure project viability and readiness.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s Office of the Federal Energy Advocate (Ohio FEA), advocating on behalf of Ohio’s retail electricity consumers, offered the following comments in support of the Tariff revisions.
PJM’s Proposal Is Timely and Necessary to Preserve Reliability
“Ohio has long supported competitive markets and is dependent on PJM’s competitive wholesale electricity market to provide resource adequacy and ensure reliability at least cost. For any market to be effective and produce just and reasonable rates, the entry of new resources must be fair and efficient. To this end, the Ohio FEA supports PJM’s proposed EIT process as a timely attempt to address the urgent resource adequacy needs of the region.”
The EIT Is Focused on Project Readiness and Is Not Unduly Discriminatory
“The proposed EIT process would be open to new large or uprated generating resources (250 MW or larger) and focused on a critical path to commercial operation within three years. Applications would be accepted and reviewed by PJM on a rolling basis and prioritized in the order in which they are received. Application requirements include:
- a) demonstrating 100 percent site control,
- b) independent verification of the 36 month critical path construction schedule,
- c) a commitment from the primary siting authority in the relevant state to supporting timely review of the project,
- d) a nonrefundable $500,000 study deposit, and
- e) a $15,000 per MW readiness deposit, refundable only when the project achieves commercial operation.
Further, the EIT process prohibits project modifications once an application is submitted, requires developers to waive any extension of project milestones, and requires developers to cover 100 percent of the network upgrades resulting from the project.8 These eligibility requirements appropriately align the EIT’s design with its purpose—to bring significant new capacity resources online quickly. Critically, they are also designed to minimize the risk of withdrawals and/or consuming scarce time and resources on projects that are unable to meet the region’s near-term resource needs.”
The Existing Queue Will Not Be Harmed by the EIT
“As the EIT will be conducted in parallel with the cycle process, disruptions to other resources that are ineligible for the EIT will be minimized and existing queued projects will not be harmed. Additionally, EIT projects will be allocated 100 percent of the network upgrades necessitated by the project, further protecting other planned resources from bearing any financial burden from the EIT”
