FERC Denies Complaint Alleging That PJM's Emergency Load Response Program Forces Demand-Response Resources To Forfeit Compensation

On April 21, 2016, FERC issued an order denying Viridity Energy, Inc.'s ("Viridity") complaint alleging that PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.'s ("PJM") Open Access Transmission Tariff ("OATT") and the parallel provisions of the PJM Operating Agreement are unduly discriminatory as applicable to end users that register under PJM's Emergency Load Response Program's Capacity Only option, as opposed to the Full Program Option, because Capacity Only resources do not receive the guaranteed energy payment that Full Program Option participants receive despite being similarly situated. In the order, FERC found that the distinctions between the program participants are justified by the need to avoid errors in measurement and verification that may be caused by Capacity Only participants inadvertently submitting duplicate offers.