The U.S. Department of Energy has issued an emergency order to alleviate stress on the power grid during a stretch of warmer-than-usual days in Maryland and other mid-Atlantic states.
The order allowed PJM Interconnection, the region’s grid operator, to delay or cancel certain seasonal maintenance operations so transmission lines can stay active, the company said in a statement. This will help mitigate the risks of power blackouts during a time that is often used to perform regular maintenance and upgrades, according to the Energy Department’s news release. It will be in effect until Friday.
“This order will help ensure millions of American families and businesses across the mid-Atlantic have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity by making additional power generation, including backup power, available to use as needed,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.
As part of the emergency order, PJM may also demand that customers with large grid usage, like data centers, use backup power sources. The grid operator was also granted temporary relief from some environmental restrictions to ensure that the power stays on.
PJM, the operator for 13 states, including Maryland, says the power grid has been under pressure recently, in part due to the data center boom in the mid-Atlantic. Maryland regulators recently approved a $1.5 billion transmission line upgrade with PJM that will allow for the closure of the state’s last coal plant, which has been in operation to meet power demands.
Temperatures are supposed to hit a high of 87 degrees in Baltimore on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. It will remain warm on Thursday in the high 60s and Friday in the low 80s before dipping back into the fall weather over the weekend, according to the weather service.