Largest US Grid Issues Energy Emergency Alert for Monday Heat
(Bloomberg) -- PJM Interconnection, which serves about 20% of Americans in the mid-Atlantic to the Midwest, declared an energy emergency alert with power demand expected to climb to a 14—year high amid intense heat.
This alert was issued in anticipation of tight conditions on the 13-state system as electricity demand is set to top 160 gigawatts on the afternoon of June 23, which would be the highest peak since July 2011, according to PJM. The Eastern US grid operator also called a “maximum generation emergency” to shore up supplies.
For now, though, the company is issuing a level-one alert, its lowest.
Monday is expected to be the third day of a week-long heat wave in the Washington, DC area. Nearby, temperatures are expected to reach 99 F (37 C), 15 above normal, in Northern Virginia, the data center capital of the world, according to AccuWeather.com. Chicago may hit 95, 12 degrees above average.
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