The largest network in the US faces a difficult test as the heat wave hits the Midwest

The operator of the largest U.S. electric grid has issued warm weather and peak generation alerts for areas of the Midwest and East as a heat wave settles into large parts of the Midwest and parts of the South.

PJM Interconnection, which coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity and provides power to 65 million people in all or parts of 13 states in the eastern and midwestern US and DC, has issued a peak generation alert and a load management alert for August 27. The alert was issued ahead of hot weather expected in many parts of the Eastern Interconnection, including the region served by PJM.

“PJM is issuing the alert as a precautionary measure after all PJM resources are engaged and electricity exports outside the PJM footprint may need to be reduced to maintain reserve requirements,” the grid operator said in Monday’s alert, adding that they are not customer actions required.

The alert is addressed to owners of transmissions and generators, who then determine whether any maintenance or testing of any equipment can be postponed or cancelled, in order to maintain the availability of all resources.

Chicago, New York and Philadelphia are expected to see temperatures rise into the mid to high 90s Fahrenheit on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport will reach 97 F today, a record for August 27. according to meteorologists cited by Bloomberg.

With demand for air conditioning rising in the heat wave, PJM’s grid could face a test of endurance.

Further south, in Texas, the state used a record amount of electricity on Aug. 20, the Electric Reliability Council reported, noting that the data was not yet official after calculating meter readings.

Earlier in the year, ERCOT estimated that electricity demand in the Lone Star State could double in six years, requiring the urgent addition of more generating capacity.

The good news in this situation is that this year ERCOT appears to have been much better prepared to handle occasional spikes in electricity demand.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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