PJM Interconnection, the operator of the largest U.S. electric grid, has issued a maximum generation alert and load management alert for July 24 due to expected high peak load demand amid a heat wave.
PJM Interconnection, whose area covers 13 mid-Atlantic and Midwest states and the District of Columbia, said that the alert does not require any action from customers. It is mostly to notify neighboring systems that electricity exports from PJM may be curtailed on Thursday, the grid operator said.
PJM has also issued a Hot Weather Alert for its entire service area for July 24 ahead of expected hot weather.
PJM forecasts that peak electricity usage for July 24 in its region would be 151,485 MW at 5 p.m. EST. The total scheduled capacity is higher, at 161,643 MW, per data as of 6 a.m. EST today, which means that the available capacity would be enough to the peak demand.
PJM says it has approximately 179,200 MW of generation capacity this summer, as well as approximately 7,900 MW of contracted demand response.
This is the second maximum generation and load management alert from the biggest U.S. grid operator in two weeks. Alerts were also issued for July 16 last week.
The alerts are not the first warning of U.S. grid operators this summer, as heat waves are boosting electricity demand for air conditioning.
The U.S. grids are in urgent need of modernization and upgrade to sustain rising power demand that’s coming mostly from data centers.
The North American Reliability Corporation has been warning of blackouts for two years now, citing extreme temperatures but also increased reliance on weather-dependent sources of electricity, notably wind and solar installations.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Energy warned that blackouts could increase substantially in the coming years unless more baseload capacity is added to the grid.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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