Need for GATS

Need for GATS | Functionality of GATS

GATS responds to the needs of state regulatory commissions, other state agencies and market participants for a single, regional, integrated system to implement state-imposed fuel mix and emissions disclosure requirements and renewable portfolio standards.

The states and PJM Interconnection market participants believe this integrated system is the most cost-effective approach to serve the public policy and regulatory needs. It provides the greatest accuracy and efficient tracking of the ownership of the attributes.

GATS fulfills four general market needs for collecting and tracking generation attribute data:

• Information disclosure by load serving entities to retail customers
  Some states require electricity suppliers periodically (quarterly, semi-annually or annually) to inform their customers about the fuel source, emissions and other characteristics of the electricity supplied.
• Renewable portfolio standards (also known as clean energy portfolio standards)
  A renewable portfolio standard requires an electricity supplier to include a minimum percentage of electricity produced by renewable or environmentally preferred generation sources in its mix of electricity supplied to retail customers.
• Emissions/generation performance standard obligations of electricity suppliers
  An emissions performance standard or generation performance standard prohibits an electricity supplier from exceeding a maximum threshold of specific emissions in its mix of electricity resources supplied to customers.
• Voluntary green power markets

States with retail electric choice generally require suppliers to provide documentation that supports and substantiates claims about electricity from renewable resources that they market to customers.

The functional design of GATS was developed through considerable deliberation of the PJM GATS Working Group. This stakeholder group began meeting in late 2001. It comprised representatives from various state agencies in the PJM region (such as state public utility commissions, state environmental protection offices, state energy offices and consumer advocates) as well as PJM market participants, environmental advocates, other PJM stakeholders and PJM staff.

PJM Interconnection ensures the reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 51 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the region’s transmission grid; administers a competitive wholesale electricity market, the world’s largest; and plans regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and relieve congestion.