The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved on Nov. 2 a joint operating agreement between PJM and NYISO. The Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) was executed by both parties in May 2007.

The JOA follows a number of earlier joint operating agreements that PJM has entered with other RTOs. The agreement was developed to improve reliability of the respective transmission systems. The agreement references and confirms a number of earlier PJM/NYISO agreements, procedures, and protocols which remain in effect.

The JOA includes obligations of the parties concerning maintaining interconnected operations, providing emergency assistance, exchanging information, coordinating scheduled outages and transmission planning studies, and coordinating voltage control and reactive power. The JOA also formalizes the process of electronic checkout of schedules, the exchange of interchange schedules to facilitate Available Transmission Capacity (ATC) calculations, and the standards for interchange revenue metering.

With FERC's approval, the JOA was made effective on its signing date in May 2007. The Coordination Committee will establish a schedule for implementing the features of the agreement.

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) -- www.nyiso.com -- is a nonprofit corporation that began operations in 1999 to facilitate the restructuring of New York's electric industry. The NYISO operates the Empire State's bulk electricity grid and administers New York's wholesale electricity markets.