US PJM electricity demand hits preliminary winter records during winter freeze
PJM Interconnection, a power grid operator in the United States, said on Wednesday that it had set a preliminary winter record with a peak load exceeding 145,000 megawatts. It also exported 8,000 MW due to extreme cold across the country.
This record is higher than the previous one of 143.700 MW, set in February 2015. Data verification will be conducted by PJM. PJM serves 65 million people across 13 states, from Illinois to New Jersey.
Mike Bryson said that PJM senior vice president for operations is expecting a high demand of nearly 140,000 MW on Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning.
This week, soaring gas prices and a record demand for gas helped spot power prices reach a record of $275 per Megawatt Hour at the PJM West Hub.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), meanwhile, said that power demand in the seven-state region reached a record high of 35,319MW on Wednesday. This was higher than the previous record of 34,577MW, set on January 17, 2024.
The system's temperatures dropped to -11 degrees Fahrenheit (11.7 Celsius) on Wednesday morning.
TVA asked its customers on Tuesday to conserve electricity on Wednesday morning in order to ease the strain on the grid.
TVA provides electricity to 10,000,000 people in seven states of the southeastern region. (Reporting and editing by Noel John in Bengaluru, Sherin Elizabeth Varighese)
(source: Reuters)
