East Coast Power Surges as Heat Spurs Emergency Grid Alert
"Data Center Alley" in Sterling, Virginia.
Photographer: Pete Kiehart/BloombergWholesale power prices surged as heat descended on the US East, prompting the region’s grid operator to declare a low-level emergency for Tuesday.
The operator of the grid from Washington to Chicago, PJM Interconnection LLC, issued a maximum generation emergency and load management alert for Tuesday, asking power plants to brace for high demand. The alert underscores how quickly power supplies can tighten when extreme heat strikes a region already grappling with rapid demand growth from data centers.