Story By Chris Oberholtz |Fox Weather| America’s largest electric grid operator has issued a Level-1 energy emergency alert as the tremendous demand for electricity increases amid an ongoing heat wave.
This comes PJM Interconnection issued their Hot Weather Alert earlier in the week to prepare transmission and generation personnel and facilities for extreme heat and humidity that may cause capacity problems on the grid.
PJM coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity and ensures power supplies for 65 million people in all or parts of 13 states and Washington, D.C. The operator issued an urgent update on grid conditions for Thursday.
The sun shines over towers carrying electrical lines on August 30, 2007, in South San Francisco, California.
Their issuance of an EEA-1, or a North American Electric Reliability Corporation alert, means that all generating resources are committed or forecast to be in use.
A Maximum Generation Emergency Alert and Load Management Alert was also issued as system conditions might require emergency procedures, PJM noted in their latest advisory.
Officials said they issued the series of alerts to help prepare generators for the “onset of intense heat, acting conservatively in light of recent extreme weather events that have occurred within the region and across the country.”
On Wednesday, PJM said they served a preliminary peak load of approximately 138,000 megawatts. A peak of about 153,000 megawatts is forecast for Thursday and a 154,000 megawatts peak is forecast for Friday.
PJM has about 186,000 megawatts of installed generating electric capacity to fulfill the needs of its customers if demand grows, the operator said. Last year’s peak demand was approximately 149,000 megawatts.
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More than 260 million Americans will feel the heat as the weekend approaches. The expansive upper-level ridge of high pressure over the Southwest and Southern Plains will work in tandem with a building Bermuda High, the FOX Forecast Center said.
Sizzling temperatures are being felt from Southern California to the East Coast. Daytime highs will soar into the triple digits each day in the Desert Southwest, while a growing footprint of 100-degree highs takes hold of the nation’s heartland.
Sultry heat indices are forecast to stick around throughout the South and eventually make their way into the mid-Atlantic by Friday, where heat indices are likely to exceed 100 degrees.
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