The U.S. Department of Energy has issued an emergency order to help the regional power grid avoid shortages this week. The area served by Pepco is among those expected to feel the most strain.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed the order Oct. 12. It took effect Oct. 13 and runs through Oct. 16. PJM Interconnection, which runs the grid across 13 states including Maryland.
The order lets PJM direct backup generators to run as a last resort. The department said the Pepco, BGE and Dominion zones face the most stress because of warm weather, power plants offline for maintenance and scheduled transmission outages.
In a statement Wednesday, Pepco, BGE and Delmarva Power said PJM’s latest grid alerts underscore the need for more dependable electricity supply throughout the year.
Pepco says the effect on its customers has been small so far.
“Pepco does not produce any power,” Chuck McDade, a Pepco spokesman, said. “We don’t have any power plants to generate energy.”
He said PJM controls the grid and sends the alerts. The only request to Pepco was to activate customers in its Energy Wise Rewards program, which adjusts smart thermostats to save energy. Customers can opt out. He said most Pepco customers saw no impact Tuesday.
“I have not seen any alerts that would say that anywhere in the service area at this moment is going to lose power,” he said.
PJM told Fox News Digital it does not expect everyday customers to be affected.
McDade said alerts like this have become more frequent this year. This one stands out because it came in the fall. He said the root problem is supply.
“We’re reaching a point where there’s just not enough supply to meet the demand,” he added.
He urged customers to treat the warm days like summer. If health allows, McDade said, raise a thermostat set at 70 to about 74, close blinds and run washers and dryers later at night.
