PJM: Pennsylvania, New Jersey would shoulder majority of Artificial Island costs

Having determined the Artificial Island transmission project will efficiently resolve operational issues, PJM is now taking a harder look at how to allocate benefits and costs of the project.

In 2015, the PJM board approved a proposal to construct a 230 kV transmission line under the Delaware River, connecting the Salem Nuclear units 1 and 2 with the Hope Creek unit 1 in southern New Jersey, to a new Delaware substation, to boost reliability in the area. But governors in Maryland and Delaware pushed back against the project over worries their residents will shoulder most of the costs without many of the benefits.

In the 15-page analysis, PJM says the board’s call for exploring alternatives was in response to concerns expressed by legislators, consumer advocates and other stakeholders, and is an acknowledgement that “there are a number of different ways to identify the beneficiaries of a stability-based project such as Artificial Island.”

The 230-kV line under the Delaware River will connect a substation at one of the nuclear stations to a new substation to be built in Delaware.

In a blog post, PJM staff said it “views the posted analysis as a starting point for all stakeholders, including the states, to review and use in discussing alternative approaches to cost allocation for stability-based projects.”
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