USA, Washington, D.C.: The risk of power outages has increased across parts of the United States as extreme heat places additional pressure on electricity supplies from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic.
The US Department of Energy warned of heightened blackout risk in the PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest regional grid, which serves around 67 million people across an area stretching from Washington, D.C. to Chicago.
Late on 1 September, Energy Secretary Chris Wright authorised PJM to call on backup generation resources if needed before declaring a level three energy emergency alert, one of the final steps before rotating blackouts may be ordered.
PJM also issued a maximum generation emergency alert, requiring generators on planned outages to report how quickly they could return units to service.
At the same time, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which manages the grid across 15 states in the Midwest and South, expected peak demand to approach 121 GW, close to its all-time record of 127.1 GW.
MISO warned of tight system conditions and increased reserve requirements to protect against unexpected generation outages and transmission congestion.
Temperatures above 32°C were expected in cities including Chicago, St Louis and Washington, D.C., increasing electricity demand for cooling.
Utilities in affected areas also urged customers to reduce non-essential electricity use during peak periods.
Source: The Guardian
