Largest U.S. power grid PJM escalates emergency actions to avoid blackouts

Cross posted from https://sh.itjust.works/post/62847828

Cheney Orr | Reuters

Largest U.S. power grid operator PJM ​said on Friday ​it was ​under a federal alert to cut electricity consumption across its territory as ⁠it ‌battled generator outages, massive overloading ⁠on its transmission lines and a surge in air conditioning use from prolonged sweltering ‌heat.

PJM said it told utilities to reduce electricity to customers ​who are under contract to reduce consumption during emergencies. PJM serves 67 million people ⁠in the Mid-Atlantic, South and Washington, D.C., area.

Spot ‌wholesale electricity prices ‌in northern Virginia, home to the largest collection of data centers in the ⁠world, have surged beyond $2,000 per megawatt hour ⁠this week. That ⁠compares to about $40 per MWh when PJM is not in distress.

The ​surge in prices ‌is mostly because it has become expensive to provide power across congested high-voltage power lines, according to industry analysts ​and PJM's operations data.