The Trump administration has declared a power emergency for the nation’s largest energy grid in advance of a dangerous heat wave that threatens to strain electricity infrastructure.
The emergency order issued by the Energy Department Tuesday authorizes power plants in the PJM Interconnection LLC region, which serves 67 million people across 13 states, to operate at maximum levels and exceed some environmental requirements.
A second Energy Department order authorizes the use of backup generators in the PJM region “as a last resort,” PJM said. Both orders run until 11:59 p.m. New York time July 3.
PJM requested the move Monday, warning of the potential for record power demand amid temperatures forecast to exceed 100F (38C).
Triple-digit temperatures are forecast to spread from Washington to Boston as a wedge of high pressure known as a “heat dome” locks warm air in place. Hundreds of daily temperature records are set to be tied or broken, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued excessive heat alerts across more than two dozen states.
This summer is already proving to be a challenging one for America’s power system, which is striving to meet a surge in demand from data centers. Last month, the DOE issued an emergency order authorizing deployment of backup generation resources in PJM to help mitigate blackouts in the Mid-Atlantic.
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