The largest U.S. grid operator is leaning on more than 65 million people to conserve electricity to keep the lights on as a frigid winter storm moves over the East Coast, boosting heating demand and forcing power plants to trip offline.
Rotating blackouts continue to be “a real potential risk” and people are being asked to help the grid until Sunday afternoon, said Michael Bryson, PJM Interconnection LLC’s senior vice president of operations.
The magnitude of the cold weather that blew in from West was so fast and intense that PJM, which manages the grid stretching from Illinois to Virginia, had under forecast demand during the peak hour by more than 7 gigawatts. That’s the equivalent of 7 million homes on a typical day. The grid initiated a rare emergency requiring certain customers to curtail their usage.
