The U.S. Department of Energy warned of escalating blackout risks as an intense heatwave strains the nation’s largest electric grid. PJM Interconnection issued a maximum generation emergency alert for Wednesday, September 2nd.
The grid operator serves 67 million people in a territory stretching from Washington D.C. to Chicago. PJM directed generators to postpone all planned outages to maximize available power supply.
The Energy Secretary authorized PJM to utilize backup generation resources as a last-resort measure. This intervention aims to stabilize the mid-Atlantic grid and prevent rotating blackouts.
Temperatures in major cities like Chicago and Washington D.C. are expected to exceed 90°F (32°C) during peak demand. The emergency highlights the increasing vulnerability of critical power infrastructure to extreme weather events.