A spell of warmer weather and other demands on the power grid are prompting federal authorities to take emergency steps to prevent blackouts across the mid-Atlantic in mid-October.
The Department of Energy issued an emergency order effective from Oct. 13 to Oct. 16 to authorize PJM Interconnection, which operates the regional grid, to use extra backup generation resources as needed to keep the power on. The order comes as a brief October heat wave could strain the grid at a time when routine maintenance usually takes transmission and generation facilities out of service.
PJM serves more than a dozen states including those in the mid-Atlantic region, where Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there is a period of "elevated demand, a high rate of planned
generator outages during the autumn maintenance season, and numerous planned transmission outages."
“This order will help ensure millions of American families and businesses across the mid-Atlantic have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity by making additional power generation, including backup power, available to use as needed,” Wright said.
The order doesn't mean that widespread power outages are likely. PJM said it is confident that its procedures and the DOE order will allow it to keep a reliable flow of power. PJM can also redirect data centers and other large loads to backup generation under the order.
PJM operated through similar conditions and a DOE emergency order amid elevated temperatures in September.
Typically, required maintenance outages are planned for times during the fall season beginning mid-September through early December when milder weather reduces demand, according to PJM. But unseasonably warm weather has thrown a wrench in PJM's ability to schedule its maintenance, bringing risks to the grid that usually are only faced in summer and winter.
"(I)ncreased baseload electricity demand is growing faster than new capacity can come onto the system; and unseasonable weather patterns are providing fewer days to perform important maintenance or construction on the generation and transmission equipment serving our footprint," PJM spokesperson Jeff Shields said in a statement to USA TODAY.
States covered by PJM service include all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
PJM said this week that it canceled transmission and generation outages "to the extent possible."
On Oct. 14, PJM expected to be within 900 megawatts of its reserve margin, while overall demand was expected to be 113,312 megawatts. The most "acute" issues were anticipated in areas served by Baltimore Gas and Electric, Pepco and Dominion Energy, which cover parts of the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia region.
"The emergency procedures took place as above-normal temperatures are forecast across much of the PJM region through Oct. 14, with hotter conditions continuing South and West," PJM said.
According to the National Weather Service, unseasonable and record-breaking warmth has settled over much of the Southern Plains, Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions. However, temperatures may fall as much as 20 to 25 degrees later in the week as the warm spell passes. Temperatures in PJM's service region were forecast to top out in the high 70s and 80s, even reaching up to 90, on Oct. 14.
Contributing: Mike Stunson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds issue emergency order to prevent power blackouts in mid-Atlantic
