The US has declared an energy emergency in the Southeast as heat stress power grids

(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration has declared an energy emergency in the U.S. Southeast as forecasters warned of dangerous heat likely to strain power grids along the nation’s East Coast.

An emergency order issued by the Department of Energy on Thursday allows Duke Energy Corp. operate power plants at their maximum output levels and exceed certain air pollution limits as part of an effort to increase production to meet surging demand in North and South Carolina. The order is valid until Friday night.

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

The emergency order was requested earlier Thursday by Duke, which said it expected unusually high power demand as temperatures were expected to reach 56 degrees in some parts of the Carolinas. This is causing severe drought throughout the area. The utility added that it fears it may not have “sufficient production” due to limits in its environmental permits and other conditions.

The National Weather Service issued a heat wave warning stretching from South Carolina to Maine through Friday.

Real-time electricity prices on the grid operated by PJM Interconnection LLC, which includes the District of Columbia and 13 states from Illinois to New Jersey, topped $1,300 per megawatt hour late Thursday amid high humidity and hot weather in the Mid-Atlantic. An independent system operator in New York said it was preparing to activate its emergency demand response program, and a grid operator in New England declared “abnormal conditions” as the heat index neared 100F across the region.

–With help from Lauren Rosenthal.

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