Grid Operator Orders Baltimore Power Cuts After Plant Shutdown

The largest US grid operator has ordered emergency action to curtail power use in the Baltimore area after a substation failure forced a large coal-fired power plant to trip offline.

PJM Interconnection LLC, which manages the 13-state eastern US system serving more than 65 million people, issued a “load shed directive” on Monday just before 4 p.m. Exelon’s Baltimore Gas & Electric asked all of it customers to conserve energy this afternoon and evening.