PJM Power Hits $1,021 as Heat Meets Plant Maintenance
A supply squeeze pushed Western hub spot prices above $1,000, while PJM recalled maintenance work and warned customers to cut use.
Key takeaways
- PJM had about 62,000 megawatts of generation offline for planned maintenance.
- Spot power at PJM’s Western hub reached $1,021 per megawatt-hour Tuesday.
- DOE’s emergency order allows PJM to exceed environmental permit limits through Oct. 16.
- FERC approved PJM’s large-load registry but rejected its proposed data-center curtailment plan.
PJM Interconnection’s Western hub spot power price reached $1,021 per megawatt-hour Tuesday as unseasonable heat coincided with planned plant maintenance. About 62,000 megawatts of generation was offline, and PJM issued a Maximum Generation Alert.
Bloomberg reported the spot price was more than twice the day-ahead average for that hour. Wednesday’s day-ahead price rose 28% to $295.83 per megawatt-hour, the highest daily average since mid-July.
PJM forecast Tuesday demand of about 112,400 megawatts, well below the grid’s 2006 peak of 165,563 megawatts. The article said the strain was on the supply side, with maintenance outages and power commitments to hot regions in the South and West limiting the available cushion.
Emergency measures
PJM recalled all active generation maintenance tickets effective Wednesday at noon. It also put demand-response customers on notice to reduce electricity use if needed.
A U.S. Department of Energy emergency order through Oct. 16 allows PJM to run plants beyond environmental permit limits. As a last resort before the most serious level of grid emergency, PJM can direct data centers and other large customers to use backup generation. DOE estimates more than 35 gigawatts of unused backup generation is available nationwide.
Unresolved capacity rules
FERC approved PJM’s registry for large customers, defined as those using at least 50 megawatts, on Oct. 9. But it rejected the main part of PJM’s proposal to let new data centers connect without matching capacity if they agreed to be curtailed ahead of emergencies.
FERC said the proposal appeared to intrude on state authority over retail rates and could discriminate against large loads. It urged states to decide which customers should face curtailment first. Jefferies analysts said the ruling could keep capacity prices higher for longer, benefiting independent power producers.
PJM projects peak demand will increase by 32 gigawatts between 2024 and 2030, with all but 2 gigawatts of that growth coming from data centers. The recalled maintenance still needs to be completed before the window closes in early December, leaving work to be rescheduled ahead of winter.
This article was produced with the help of AI technology. Based on reporting by the outlets listed above.
