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PJM peak demand hits a record, with emergency grid actions growing
Day-ahead prices in parts of the PJM footprint topped $2,000 per MWh after PJM relied on multiple federal emergency orders in 2026.
PJM Interconnection set an all-time peak demand record on July 2, with preliminary demand estimated at more than 168,000 MW, according to Power Magazine citing its coverage of the event.
While there were no rolling blackouts, Power Magazine says the “system held up” only because of extraordinary measures, including two federal emergency orders under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act. The outlet notes one order waived environmental limits so plants could run past permit restrictions, and another authorized forced curtailment of data centers onto backup generation.
Power Magazine also highlights market stress around the peak, saying day-ahead prices topped $2,000 per MWh in parts of the PJM footprint, about triple a comparable peak a year earlier. The story adds this was the third federal emergency intervention for PJM in 2026 alone, with additional hot-weather alert and an emergency order request in effect for the same footprint.
Looking ahead, Power Magazine points to NERC’s Long-Term Reliability Assessment, which projects summer peak demand could rise by 224 GW and winter peak by 245 GW over the next decade, with upward revisions of 69% and 65% versus projections from a year earlier. The outlet attributes to NERC’s John Moura a call for the industry to move beyond margin-only thinking toward probabilistic and energy risk analysis, treating large loads as part of system planning rather than just demand forecasts.