OREANDA-NEWS. December 12, 2012. GE (NYSE: GE) unit GE Energy Financial Services announced today that it is now able to offer additional electric transmission capacity from its Linden Variable Frequency Transformer (VFT) smart grid project, which uses GE technology to enable a simple and controlled transmission path between electrical grids.

GE is making an additional 15 megawatts of reservation rights available through the PJM OASIS system. This allows market participants -- on a first-come, first-serve basis -- to obtain either firm or non-firm reservation rights to transmit energy, sourced in the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) regional control area, into the New York Independent System Operator, Inc. (NYISO) regional control area. The Linden VFT customers will also be able to use the PJM OASIS system to obtain reservation rights in the opposite direction, to route energy from NYISO to PJM. Service is being offered under the terms of Schedule 16 of the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff (Transmission Service on the Linden VFT Facility), as well as Schedule 16A. Access to the PJM OASIS reservation system is provided here.

The Linden VFT project, which can provide New York City with additional power, is located in Linden, New Jersey, at the intersection of the NYISO Zone J (New York City) and PJM power grids. Constructed adjacent to GE Energy Financial Services’ 900-megawatt Linden cogeneration power plant, the project provides 315 megawatts of transmission capacity, enough to power up to 315,000 homes.

The Linden VFT project commenced commercial operation in late 2009 and has successfully demonstrated the flexibility to flow power in both directions between NYISO and PJM power grids. The variable frequency transformers provide a precise control path between electrical grids, permitting power exchanges that were previously impossible because of technical constraints. They enable transmission system operators at PJM and NYISO to control power flows with high reliability, speed and efficiency, while offering flexibility in how utilities meet growing energy demand. The reliable power flow also provides customers with more diverse and lower-cost power sources.

GE Energy Financial Services’ leadership of this project demonstrates its commitment to solving a wide range of energy needs, in part, through investing in and the financing of transmission projects. GE Energy Financial Services holds equity investments in power projects, which it either operates itself or by third parties, with a capacity to produce 30 gigawatts.