WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy declared an emergency for the nation’s largest power grid operator as a dangerous heat wave drove electricity demand toward record levels on Thursday.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued orders under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act directing PJM Interconnection to take steps to ensure reliability amid surging demand from air conditioning use across its territory.
PJM, which serves about 67 million people in 13 states and Washington, D.C., forecast peak loads of approximately 166,304 megawatts for Thursday evening, which would exceed its previous summer record of 165,563 MW set in 2006.
The emergency measures authorize power plants to operate at maximum output, including waivers of certain environmental limits, and allow for potential curtailment of large electricity users such as data centers.
A broad heat dome has placed more than 160 million people under extreme heat alerts across roughly 30 states, with temperatures and heat indices reaching dangerous levels in the Midwest, South and expanding into the Northeast.
PJM has urged conservation as the system operates near capacity. Some localized power outages have been reported, including thousands in Ohio, but no widespread blackouts have occurred.
The orders, requested by PJM, remain in effect through July 3.
The situation continues to develop as forecasters monitor the heat wave through the July 4 holiday weekend.
