By Tim McLaughlin
Jan 30 (Reuters) – Power demand on the largest U.S. electric grid on Friday is expected to peak at about 141 gigawatts, just shy of the all-time winter record on the PJM Interconnection, according to the operator’s latest seven-day forecast.
PJM’s performance has been closely watched partly because of its heavy concentration of data centers, whose power consumption is climbing faster than the grid can put more generation online.
The operator, which manages the flow of electricity for 67 million people in 13 Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., has so far navigated a snowstorm and 10 days of frigid weather without ordering any rolling blackouts.
Generation outages on the grid were expected to be about 15 gigawatts on Friday, or around 11% of total committed capacity. Earlier in the week, generation outages topped 22 GW, according to PJM data. Outages for the weekend were expected to range from 11 GW to 14 GW, according to PJM’s forecast.
Earlier this week, PJM predicted its all-time winter record for demand would be smashed on Friday, forecasting 148 GW of electricity consumption. PJM’s record for the season is 143.7 GW, set in January 2025.
But PJM ratcheted down those forecasts as temperatures in some parts of its territory were warmer than expected. Data centers were also encouraged by the U.S. Department of Energy to use back-up generators, which would ease the strain on PJM’s resources.
On Friday morning, spot wholesale electricity prices in PJM were about $173 per MWh, far below spikes seen earlier in the week that topped $3,000 per MWh.
PJM and electric grids in New York and New England have had to navigate congested high-voltage lines throughout their territories. Temperatures hovering above 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius) this week have caused power line overloads from a surge in electricity demand. Cold weather also cut the capacity of power plants in PJM’s territory.
(Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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