DOE Emergency Order Holds Mid-Atlantic Power Grid Through Oct. 16 as Heat Strains Supply
The Energy Department authorized grid operator PJM to dispatch backup generation across 13 states and Washington, D.C., through Friday, after unseasonable October heat collided with fall maintenance outages. PJM now expects emergency conditions to ease after Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a federal emergency order giving grid operator PJM Interconnection broad authority to keep electricity flowing across 13 states and Washington, D.C., through Oct. 16, after an unseasonable October heat wave collided with the fall maintenance season.
Emergency Order No. 202-26-50, issued Oct. 12 under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, directs PJM to dispatch specified generating units and, as a last resort before or during a Level 3 Energy Emergency Alert, order backup generators at data centers and other large facilities to run. PJM requested the order on Oct. 11, warning that anticipated electricity shortages and transmission constraints could threaten reliability.
The strain comes from two directions at once. High temperatures pushed demand up at a time when power plants and transmission lines are normally taken offline for autumn maintenance. Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited a period of “elevated demand, a high rate of planned generator outages during the autumn maintenance season, and numerous planned transmission outages.” PJM forecast demand of about 111,500 megawatts or more on Oct. 13 against roughly 61,591 megawatts of generation out of service, and expected to come within about 900 megawatts of its reserve margin on Oct. 14. The most acute strain was expected in areas served by Baltimore Gas and Electric, Pepco and Dominion Energy, around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
“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.
On Wednesday, PJM extended its Maximum Generation Alert into the evening and activated demand-response programs across 18 utility zones, according to PJM emergency messages. Enrolled large customers reduced electricity use at 2 p.m., and a faster 30-minute demand-response program was activated at 4 p.m. in the BGE, Dominion and Pepco zones. The operator also posted transmission load-relief warnings in Virginia and Pennsylvania. The systemwide alert remained at Energy Emergency Alert Level 1 through 11:59 p.m. EDT, with no EEA 2 or 3 declared and no rolling blackouts ordered.
What the order allows
The order temporarily lets a short list of generating units operate beyond their environmental permit limits for four days, with monitoring, reporting and limits on operating hours. Four FirstEnergy units in Wood County, Ohio, are among the named resources. PJM must report to the Energy Department which units actually operated under the order. PJM also canceled transmission and generation outages “to the extent possible,” and said a similar DOE emergency order carried the grid through elevated temperatures in September.
Relief expected after Wednesday
In an update issued at 5:45 p.m. EDT Wednesday, PJM said emergency system conditions were “not expected to continue past 10/14” and that it had not identified a need to use the order’s specified generating resources on Oct. 15 and Oct. 16. The federal order itself remains in place through its scheduled expiration on Oct. 16. The National Weather Service said temperatures could fall 20 to 25 degrees later in the week as the warm spell passes, with highs in the PJM region reaching the high 70s, 80s and even 90 degrees on Wednesday.
Reporting based on coverage by USA Today and J News Network.
