This week, PJM Interconnection, which delivers power to 67 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C., faced a surge in demand that hit roughly 163 gigawatts, just shy of a 20-year record. A heat dome pushing temperatures past 110 degrees prompted the U.S. Department of Energy to issue its third emergency order of 2026:
Wholesale prices spiked past $2,000/MWh, and operating reserves fell to 5,091 MW, leaving PJM little cushion against unplanned outages:
PJM's own figures show nearly all its demand growth through 2030 comes from data centers, and capacity costs have already jumped more than 11-fold:
