July 4, 2026 09:45 AM seekingalpha.com Positive

Largest U.S. power grid orders emergency curbs to avoid blackouts

AEP CEG D DTCR DUK ED EXC FUTY IDGT IDU NEE NRG RSPU SO SRVR TRFK UTES VOLT VPU VST XLU

[Electricity concepts. High voltage transformers with night city lights]
s-cphoto/iStock via Getty Images

The largest U.S. power grid operator, PJM Interconnection, said Friday it is under a federal emergency alert [https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/largest-us-power-grid-pjm-says-it-is-no-longer-able-provide-expected-energy-2026-07-03/] to reduce electricity consumption across its territory, as ⁠it ‌battles generator outages, massive overloading ⁠on transmission lines, and a surge in air conditioning use from the current heatwave.

PJM, which serves 67M people ⁠in the Mid-Atlantic, South, and Washington, D.C., areas, said the order applied to industrial and residential electricity users with contracts that pay them in return for mandatory consumption cuts during emergencies.

PJM also told neighboring regional grids, including in New York and the Midwest, that its electricity exports from may be curtailed, a procedural step that allows those regions to plan accordingly.

Spot ‌wholesale electricity prices ‌in northern Virginia, home to the world's largest collection of data centers, reportedly have surged beyond $2,500/MWh ⁠this week, ⁠compared to ~$40/MWh when PJM is not in distress.

The entire continental U.S. is facing heat-related risks as the holiday weekend begins, with ~77M people expected to confront "extreme heat" on Saturday.

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that extreme heat - meaning heat with no overnight relief - will be experienced on the East Coast, hitting Boston, New York, Washington, and Atlanta, while a major heat warning has been issued for another 67M people, stretching further into Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Maine.

Utilities operating in the PJM region include Constellation Energy (CEG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CEG]), NextEra Energy (NEE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NEE]), Vistra (VST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VST]), American Electric Power (AEP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AEP]), Exelon (EXC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EXC]), Dominion Energy (D [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/D]), Duke Energy (DUK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DUK]), Southern Company (SO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SO]), NRG Energy (NRG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NRG]), Consolidated Edison (ED [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ED]).

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