Before focusing on any one transmission project, it helps to understand the role of PJM Interconnection.
PJM is the independent regional grid operator for all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, including Virginia. It coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity across the high-voltage grid and operates the electricity markets that help keep power available and reliable for more than 67 million people. Learn more about PJM and the region it serves.
PJM is not the developer of the Joshua Falls to Yeat project, and it does not decide the final on-the-ground route or issue Virginia permits. Its role is regional: to examine future electricity demand, generation changes, and the ability of the interstate transmission system to deliver power reliably. The developers that submit potential projects, and the state agencies that later review routing and permits, have different roles.
PJM works on two timelines at once. It operates the power grid every day, while also looking years ahead for potential reliability constraints. Through its Regional Transmission Expansion Plan, or RTEP, PJM currently studies the transmission system over a 15-year planning horizon. When its studies identify a future need, PJM may open a competitive window in which qualified transmission developers submit proposed solutions. PJM evaluates those proposals and recommends projects to its independent Board for approval. The selected developer must then proceed through the applicable state siting, environmental, and permitting processes.
This matters because a large transmission project does not begin with a single route drawn on a map. It begins with PJM forecasts and planning assumptions and progresses through grid studies and a competitive proposal process. Through that process, three transmission companies – Dominion Energy, FirstEnergy Transmission, and Transource Energy – formed the Valley Link partnership and submitted a proposed Joshua Falls to Yeat transmission connection. PJM selected that proposal as part of its regional plan to help meet projected electricity demand and maintain reliability across the region.
PJM did not select a final on-the-ground route. Valley Link has identified potential route options and now seeks to move the project through the state and local review processes that will determine whether it may be built and, if so, along what alignment and subject to what conditions.
The resources below lead to PJM's own materials. They are arranged from a general introduction to more detailed technical information.
1. Introduction to Long-Term Transmission Planning
PJM's Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP) fact sheet and PJM's explanation of its competitive planning process provide a plain-language introduction to how PJM plans for future transmission needs.
Together, they explain the basic sequence: PJM studies the grid for projected reliability needs, opens a competitive window for qualified developers to submit potential solutions, evaluates those proposals, and recommends projects to its Board for approval. This is a helpful starting point for anyone seeking a general understanding of how large regional transmission projects move from planning to selection.
2. Long-Term Forecast Process
PJM's updated 20-year load forecast overview provides a deeper explanation of the assumptions behind PJM's demand projections.
An important takeaway is that long-term load forecasts are updated as conditions and available information change. Current projections reflect substantial anticipated growth from large new electricity users, particularly data centers. The page also explains how PJM considers factors such as weather, economic conditions, efficiency, electric vehicles, distributed energy resources, and utility-supplied information about planned large loads.
3. Data-Intensive Detail on How Forecasts Are Developed
PJM's Load Forecast Development Process is the source for readers who want to examine the underlying reports, data tables, assumptions, prior forecasts, and supporting technical materials.
This resource is more detailed and technical, but it allows interested residents to see the actual inputs and documentation behind PJM's long-term load forecast.