Duke Energy Kentucky Ordered to Provide Additional Information on PJM Auction Participation

Strategic Insights -

The Kentucky Public Service Commission has directed Duke Energy Kentucky, Inc. to provide additional information regarding its plans to participate in the PJM Interconnection LLC auctions, specifically the Base Residual Auction (BRA) and Incremental auctions for the 2027/2028 delivery year. The order requires Duke Kentucky to file an electronic version of the requested information by January 3, 2025, and adhere to certain formatting and bookmarking requirements.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Commission has requested that Duke Kentucky provide a detailed explanation of the forecast used to arrive at its preferred portfolio in the BRA clearing prices analysis stages.
  • The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) filed in Case No. 2024-001972 assumes that Duke Kentucky remains a fixed resource requirement (FRR) participant in PJM.
  • Being an FRR or a reliability pricing model (RPM) designated PJM participant affects how Duke Kentucky intends to bid its generation units into the BRA and subsequent auctions.
  • Duke Kentucky has considered the potential effects of additional supply on its forecasting of BRA and Incremental auction clearing prices, but has not factored in changes to the Effective Load Carrying Capability (ELCC) methodology in future BRAs.
  • The Duke Energy Ohio Kentucky (DEOK) Load Zone becomes transmission constrained at a level of import capacity, with constraints located in the state of Ohio.
  • Duke Kentucky has studied the potential effects of the 2027 retirement of the Zimmer and Miami Fort power plants, but has not modeled the retirement of these plants in the EnCompass model.
  • The retirement of the Zimmer and Miami Fort plants would affect the projected BRA clearing prices and the generation choices made in reaching its IRP Preferred Portfolio.

Statistics:

  • The Commission has set a deadline of January 3, 2025, for Duke Kentucky to provide the requested information.
  • Bra clearing prices analysis stages rely on forecasted data.

Sources:

  • Commonwealth of Kentucky Before the Public Service Commission, Case No. 2024-00285
  • Kentucky Public Service Commission, Order dated December 16, 2024
  • Duke Energy Kentucky, Inc. response to Commission Staff's First Request for Information, Item 13
  • Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) filed in Case No. 2024-001972
  • Swez Direct Testimony