'Stretched to the limit': Heat wave prompts US electrical grid emergency [View all]

With 160 million people in 30 states under alert for extreme temperatures, the U.S. Department of Energy has declared an emergency as a heat wave bears down on a huge part of the nation's electrical grid.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an Energy Emergency Alert, directing officials of the biggest electrical grid, PJM Interconnections in the Mid-Atlantic region, to take action to prevent blackouts and ensure essential operations like hospitals are fully functioning during the heat wave.

"Maintaining affordable, reliable, and secure power in the PJM service territory is non-negotiable," Wright said in a statement on Tuesday.

PJM supplies power to about 65 million customers in Washington, D.C., and in all or parts of 13 states, including Delaware, Michigan, Maryland, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/stretched-limit-heat-wave-prompts-215750194.html