Overview
- PJM issued a Maximum Generation Alert for July 3 and a Hot Weather Alert through July 4 as demand climbed to about 162–163 gigawatts, a level close to the 2006 peak.
- The U.S. Department of Energy on June 30 granted an emergency order that lets PJM temporarily relax some pollution limits and require very large customers to switch to onsite backup generation within 15 minutes if needed.
- Operating reserves dropped sharply from about 10,996 megawatts to roughly 5,091 megawatts, while PJM’s 18 gigawatts of fast-start reserves have so far been used to avoid rolling blackouts.
- Wholesale prices surged, with day-ahead power topping $2,000 per megawatt-hour in parts of the system and the Western Hub settling above $1,200/MWh during the peak pricing hours.
- Longer term pressure is tied to rapid data-center growth that PJM forecasts will add roughly 30 gigawatts of peak demand by 2030 and that market monitors say is driving large capacity-market cost increases for ratepayers.