US Declares Power Emergency in Southeast as Heat Strains Grids

The Trump administration declared a power emergency in the southeastern US as forecasters warned of dangerous heat that’s likely to stress power grids along the country’s east coast.

An emergency order issued by the Energy Department on Thursday allows Duke Energy Corp. to operate power plants at their maximum output levels and exceed certain air pollution limits, as part of efforts to boost generation to meet soaring demand in North and South Carolina. The order is in effect through Friday night.

“The order will mitigate the risk of unnecessary blackouts brought on by unusually high load forecasts and high temperatures across the region,” the Energy Department said in a statement.

The emergency order was requested by Duke earlier on Thursday, which said it expected unusually high power demand as temperatures were set to reach as high as 101F (56C) in some areas of the Carolinas. That comes on top of a severe drought across the area. The utility added it was concerned it may not have “sufficient generation” because of limits in its environmental permits and other conditions.

The National Weather Service has warned of heat waves stretching from South Carolina to Maine through Friday.

Real-time power prices on the grid operated by PJM Interconnection LLC, which spans the District of Columbia and 13 states from Illinois to New Jersey, surged past $1,300 per megawatt-hour late on Thursday amid high humidity and hot weather in the Mid-Atlantic. The New York Independent System operator said it was preparing to activate its emergency demand response program and New England’s grid operator declared “abnormal conditions” as the heat index approaches 100F across the region.