The PJM Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee (TEAC) convened on October 8, 2025, to discuss updates to regional transmission planning, cost allocation frameworks, and ongoing project evaluations under the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP). The meeting underscored PJM’s dual challenge: accommodating rapidly evolving generation portfolios while modernizing transmission infrastructure to maintain reliability, manage congestion, and facilitate renewable integration across its 13-state footprint.
Transmission Planning and RTEP Updates
PJM’s RTEP process continues to evolve in response to federal regulatory shifts, renewable adoption, and grid modernization imperatives. The October session served as both a technical deep dive and a strategic checkpoint, aligning planners, stakeholders, and transmission owners on upcoming system needs and evaluation methodologies.
The first portion of the meeting focused on the 2025 Regional Transmission Expansion Plan cycle, which includes both baseline reliability and market efficiency analyses. PJM planners outlined updated load forecasts, anticipated generation retirements, and new renewable entry projections—all factors reshaping system flows and congestion patterns.
Key discussion points included:
- Shifting Load Patterns: PJM noted increased electrification and data center expansion, particularly in the Dominion and APS zones. These emerging large loads are redefining planning assumptions, with projected 24/7 demand profiles influencing both reliability and economic analyses.
- Generation Queue Integration: The influx of solar, storage, and hybrid resources continues to dominate interconnection requests. PJM reaffirmed that integration studies are increasingly being aligned with long-term planning assessments to ensure more holistic system upgrades.
- Thermal and Voltage Constraints: Several corridors—especially in eastern PJM—remain thermally constrained due to generator retirements and localized load growth. Identified projects in the 230 kV and 500 kV ranges will likely form the core of upcoming baseline upgrades.
- Dynamic Line Ratings and Grid-Enhancing Technologies: PJM emphasized expanding pilot programs to validate the reliability and efficiency benefits of DLRs and other advanced transmission technologies, signaling a continued pivot toward non-wires alternatives where feasible.
The overarching message was clear: transmission expansion must be proactive, data-driven, and adaptable to a system where renewable resources and flexible demand are increasingly dominant.
Cost Allocation and Competitive Planning Initiatives
A major agenda item centered on the evolving cost allocation framework—a topic gaining prominence as PJM integrates long-term regional and interregional transmission needs.
The committee reviewed methodologies for assigning costs among beneficiaries, including updates reflecting FERC’s Order 1920 planning principles. PJM reiterated its focus on maintaining beneficiary-based cost allocation while enhancing transparency for multi-driver projects that address both reliability and market efficiency.
Discussions highlighted:
- Multi-Driver Projects: PJM reaffirmed its intent to prioritize solutions addressing overlapping reliability, economic, and public policy drivers, ensuring cost-effective outcomes.
- Interregional Coordination: Work continues with neighboring ISOs to align planning and cost-sharing protocols, especially with MISO and NYISO.
- Competitive Bidding Process: PJM reviewed lessons from recent competitive transmission solicitations, noting refinements to scoring criteria emphasizing innovation, cost control, and construction readiness.
These updates reinforce PJM’s commitment to balancing system reliability with economic efficiency, while ensuring that new infrastructure investments deliver measurable value to customers and market participants alike.
Renewable Integration and Reliability Coordination
The TEAC meeting also emphasized the intersection of renewable integration and grid reliability, a growing concern as intermittent resources increasingly replace conventional generation.
Key takeaways included:
- Grid Flexibility Requirements: PJM’s analyses project higher ramping and frequency regulation needs as renewable penetration rises. Transmission reinforcement and flexible interconnection options are essential to maintaining voltage and frequency stability.
- Resource Adequacy Under Stress Conditions: Planners detailed ongoing assessments of the grid’s ability to withstand correlated outages and extreme weather scenarios. Renewable developers were urged to ensure their project models accurately reflect operational characteristics for stability studies.
- Storage as Transmission Support: PJM acknowledged the emerging role of battery energy storage as both a capacity resource and a transmission asset. Integration studies are expanding to evaluate dual-use cases that can relieve congestion and support voltage control.
- Queue Reform Coordination: The TEAC discussion reiterated PJM’s efforts to coordinate queue reforms with ongoing interconnection studies, ensuring that new renewable projects align with both system capacity and transmission topology.
For developers, the message is unmistakable: future project viability will depend on grid-supportive capabilities, accurate modeling, and proactive coordination with transmission planning entities.
Next Steps and Stakeholder Engagement
PJM closed the meeting by outlining upcoming milestones in the RTEP process, including:
- Baseline reliability project recommendations targeted for board review in early Q1 2026.
- Continued modeling refinements for high-renewable and high-load growth scenarios.
- Ongoing workshops to refine cost allocation proposals under the long-term planning rule framework.
The next TEAC meeting is expected to revisit specific competitive project evaluations and provide updates on interregional coordination studies. Stakeholders were encouraged to submit feedback on modeling assumptions, technology applications, and long-term system needs.
Navigate PJM Transmission Planning
As PJM’s planning process becomes more data-driven and regionally integrated, developers, investors, and transmission stakeholders must understand how these changes affect project timelines, interconnection costs, and strategic positioning.
We help clients navigate complex regional planning and interconnection landscapes—translating regulatory updates into actionable strategies. Whether you’re preparing an interconnection application, analyzing congestion risk, or planning a renewable portfolio across PJM’s footprint, our expertise ensures your project is optimized for both compliance and profitability.
Contact ZEG to schedule a consultation on how evolving TEAC developments could impact your upcoming projects—and position your organization at the forefront of the next generation of grid planning and renewable integration.
Learn more about PJM here.
