Largest US power grid PJM issues alerts as storm hikes energy demand

Jan 27 (Reuters) - The largest U.S. power grid PJM said on Tuesday it had issued extra alerts to transmission and generation firms as a monster winter storm looked set to bring unprecedented energy demand.

The operator, which serves 13 states and the District of Columbia, issued Maximum Generation and Load Management alerts for companies to see if any maintenance or testing can be deferred or canceled to keep units online during the critical period.

The alerts also let neighboring systems know that electricity exports from PJM may be curtailed.

The storm dumped a foot of snow from New Mexico to New England, paralyzed much of the eastern U.S., scuttled thousands of flights and caused widespread power outages.

PJM said it anticipates peak demand has the potential to exceed 130,000 megawatts for seven straight days, a winter streak it has never experienced.

Depending on temperatures, the operator said it could set a new all-time winter peak load on Tuesday, partly due to data center electricity needs, with predicted overall demand at 147.2 gigawatts, above the record winter demand of 143.7 GW set in January 2025.